MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s safety chief confirmed Tuesday that 17 members of the family of cartel leaders crossed into the U.S. final week as a part of a deal between a son of the previous head of the Sinaloa Cartel and the Trump administration.
Mexican Safety Secretary Omar García Harfuch confirmed a report by unbiased journalist Luis Chaparro that members of the family of Ovidio Guzman Lopez, who was extradited to the US in 2023, had entered the U.S.
Guzmán Lopez is likely one of the brothers left operating a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel after infamous capo Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán was imprisoned within the U.S.
Video confirmed the members of the family strolling throughout the border from Tijuana with their suitcases to ready U.S. brokers.
Rumors had circulated final week that the youthful Guzmán would plead responsible to keep away from trial for a number of drug trafficking costs within the U.S. after being extradited in 2023.
García Harfuch confirmed the members of the family’ crossing in a radio interview and mentioned it was clear to Mexican authorities that they have been doing so after negotiations between Guzmán López and the U.S. authorities.
He believed that was the case as a result of the previous cartel boss, whose lawyer mentioned in January he had entered negotiations with U.S. authorities, had been pointing fingers at members of different legal organizations seemingly as a part of a cooperation settlement.
“It’s evident that his household goes to the U.S. due to a negotiation or a suggestion that the Division of Justice is giving him,” Garcia Harfuch mentioned.
He mentioned that not one of the members of the family have been being pursued by Mexican authorities and that the federal government of U.S. President Donald Trump “has to share data” with Mexican prosecutors, one thing it has not but completed.
The affirmation by García Harfuch comes the identical day that the U.S. Legal professional Basic’s Workplace introduced it was charging numerous prime cartel leaders with “narcoterrorism” for the primary time because the Trump administration declared numerous cartels as international terrorist organizations.
Whereas prosecutors declined to touch upon the video of the household, U.S. Legal professional Adam Gordon for the Southern District of California and different officers despatched a warning to cartel members, repeatedly citing the Sinaloa Cartel by identify.
“Let me be direct, to the leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, you might be not the hunters, you’re the hunted. You may be betrayed by your folks, you can be hounded by your enemies, and you’ll finally end up and your face right here in a courtroom within the Southern District of California,” Gordon mentioned.
