Mexico’s removal of major drug cartel figures comes as the country seeks to dissuade Trump from slapping 25% tariffs on Mexican goods. The extradition is Mexico’s largest in years.CrimeMexico

Mexico’s removal of major drug cartel figures comes as the country seeks to dissuade Trump from slapping 25% tariffs on Mexican goods. The extradition is Mexico’s largest in years.

Omar Trevino Morales, leader of the Zetas drug cartel, after having being captured [FILE: March 4, 2015]
Omar Trevino Morales, leader of the Zetas drug cartel, is reportedly among those extradited to the US [FILE: March 4, 2015]Image: Enrique Perez Huerta/Demotix/picture alliance
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Mexican authorities on Thursday announced the extradition of 29 cartel figures to the United States.

The handover comes as Mexico tries to avert a looming US tariff threat that US President Donald Trump has linked to illegal migration and drug flows.

What prompted the mass extradition of Mexican drug cartels?
The US Justice Department had requested the extradition, according to a joint statement by the Mexican Attorney General’s Office and the security ministry.

The handover was “historic,” said Mike Vigil, a former chief of international operations at the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Vigil also said that Mexico usually extradited only a few suspects at the same time. He thinks that Mexico sent them to the US ” hoping that it will have a positive impact on the tariff negotiations.”

The announcement coincided with a visit to Washington by top Mexican officials trying to dissuade the Trump administration from imposing 25% tariffs on all Mexican imports that will go into effect on March 4.