MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico has sent 37 cartel members to the United States at the request of the US Justice Department, with President Claudia Sheinbaum saying Wednesday it was a “sovereign decision” by her government.
Sheinbaum responded to criticism from analysts and opponents who said Tuesday’s transfers were the result of growing pressure from Washington. US President Donald Trump has threatened to take military action against the cartels.
Sheinbaum said that although the transfers were made at the request of the American government, the decision was taken by the National Security Council after analyzing what was “convenient for Mexico” and in terms of its “national security”.
“Mexico is placed first on everything else, even if they ask for everything they have to ask. It is a sovereign decision,” she said in her regular morning news meeting.
Sheinbaum, who has been praised for her level-headed handling of relations with Trump, has been forced to walk a fine line between making concessions to the Trump administration and projecting strength both domestically and internationally.
Observers say that the Mexican government used the transfers as a kind of pressure valve to offset the demands from Trump and show that the authorities are restricting criminal groups. Tensions have only increased since the United States launched a military operation in Venezuela to capture then-President Nicolás Maduro to face charges in the United States in an extraordinary use of force that has baffled leaders across Latin America.
Those sent to the United States on Tuesday were alleged members of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel, known by its Spanish acronym CJNG, and the Sinaloa Cartel, which Washington has designated as terrorist organizations, and a number of other groups. It is the third such transfer of capos during the past year. The Government of Mexico said that it sent a total of 92 people to the United States.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi on Wednesday said the transfer was “an important achievement in the Trump administration’s mission to destroy the cartels.”
The United States Department of Justice said that the move was an “important step” by the government of Mexico and that the collaboration was in the common interest of both countries.
“These 37 cartel members – including terrorists from the Sinaloa Cartel, CJNG, and others – will now pay for their crimes against the American people on American soil,” Bondi said in a statement with other US Department of Justice officials.
In August, Mexico’s security minister acknowledged that some of the cartel leaders sent to the United States at the time were continuing their criminal operations from prison and that their transfer was agreed because there was a risk that they could be released due to judicial decisions.
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Matthew Lee contributed to this report from Washington.