MEXICO CITY (AP) 鈥� security minister said Tuesday that it had sent another 37 members of Mexican drug cartels to the United States, as the ratchets up pressure on governments to crack down on criminal networks it says are smuggling drugs across the border.
Mexican Security Minister Omar Garc铆a Harfuch wrote in a social media post on X that the people transferred were 鈥渉igh impact criminals鈥� that 鈥渞epresented a real threat to the country鈥檚 security.鈥�
It is the third time in less than one year that Mexico as the country attempts to offset mounting threats by U.S. President Donald Trump. Garc铆a Harfuch said the government has sent 92 people in total.
Video shared by Mexican authorities shows a line of handcuffed prisoners surrounded by heavily armed and masked officers being loaded onto a military jet at an airport on the outskirts of Mexico City.
鈥淎s the pressure increases, as demands from the White House dial up, (Mexico鈥檚 government) needs to resort to extraordinary measures, such as these transfers,鈥� said David Mora, a Mexico analyst at the International Crisis Group.
The U.S. State Department and Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tuesday鈥檚 transfer included a handful of important figures from the , the Beltr谩n-Leyva cartel, , the Northeast Cartel, a remnant of the infamous Zetas based in the Mexican border state of Tamaulipas, across from Texas. Mexican authorities said that all had pending U.S. cases.
Among those transferred was Mar铆a Del Rosario Navarro S谩nchez, in the U.S. for providing support to a terrorist organization, after being accused of conspiring with a cartel.
Trump has publicly entertained the idea of military action on Mexican cartels, language that has only gotten more combative since a U.S. military operation in Venezuela earlier this month.
Turning his attention to Mexico shortly after the Venezuela attack, Trump said in an interview with Fox 海角社区app: 鈥淲e鈥檝e knocked out 97% of the drugs coming in by water and we are going to start now hitting land, with regard to the cartels.鈥�
Last week, Mexico , telling him that U.S. intervention in Mexico was 鈥渘ot necessary,鈥� but emphasizing that the two governments would continue to collaborate.
Last February, Mexico sent 29 cartel figures to the U.S., , who was behind the killing of a U.S. DEA agent in 1985. In August, a second round saw 26 Mexican cartel figures sent to the U.S. None had the profile of Caro Quintero, but spanning multiple cartels, the figures could help U.S. prosecutors build cases.
After the August transfer, Garc铆a Harfuch said it was a public safety decision, because Mexico did not want them to continue operating their illicit businesses from inside Mexican prisons.
Another transfer of prisoners to the U.S. had been rumored for weeks. Mexico has sought to assure the Trump administration that it continues to be a willing partner in combating drug traffickers.
“For the Trump administration and the Trump base, what is going to matter in the end is some wins that Trump can actually bring back and say 鈥楲ook this is what I鈥檓 getting out of Mexico,鈥欌�� said Mora.
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Associated Press reporter Fabiola Sanch茅z contributed to this report from Mexico City.
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