{"id":13871,"date":"2025-03-04T11:37:57","date_gmt":"2025-03-04T11:37:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/04\/who-are-rafael-caro-quintero-and-the-28-other-alleged-criminals-extradited-to-the-us-from-mexico\/"},"modified":"2025-03-04T11:37:57","modified_gmt":"2025-03-04T11:37:57","slug":"who-are-rafael-caro-quintero-and-the-28-other-alleged-criminals-extradited-to-the-us-from-mexico","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/04\/who-are-rafael-caro-quintero-and-the-28-other-alleged-criminals-extradited-to-the-us-from-mexico\/","title":{"rendered":"Who are Rafael Caro Quintero and the 28 other alleged criminals extradited to the US from Mexico?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mexico has extradited 29 alleged criminals to the United States, among them the so-called \u201cnarco of narcos\u201d Rafael Caro Quintero, many accused of murder and several alleged members of cartels now designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations. <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what you need to know about the extradited men and the accusations leveled against them. <\/p>\n

Rafael Caro Quintero<\/h2>\n

Caro Quintero is the most high-profile individual among the 29 extradited. Known as the \u201cnarco of narcos\u201d and pursued by the US for 40 years, the erstwhile leader of the now-defunct Guadalajara Cartel is alleged to have been among those responsible for the 1985 murder of DEA agent Enrique \u201cKiki\u201d Camarena and others. When news broke of his extradition on February 27, the DEA\u2019s Los Angeles office tweeted out a portrait of Camarena with the caption \u201cJustice Served!\u201d <\/p>\n

Caro Quintero appeared before a judge in Brooklyn on Friday afternoon, pleading not guilty to charges related to the decades-old killing of a Drug Enforcement Administration agent and other drug-related charges. <\/p>\n

Caro Quintero has already spent 28 years in prison in Mexico for his alleged role in Camarena\u2019s murder before he was released on a technicality in 2013. That year, the Mexican Supreme Court overturned the decision that freed him. <\/p>\n

Added to the FBI\u2019s 10 Most Wanted Fugitives in 2018, Caro Quintero returned to drug trafficking as a senior leader of the Sinaloa cartel, according to the FBI. The Sinaloa Cartel is now considered a terrorist organization by the US. <\/p>\n

In July 2022, Caro Quintero was captured by the Mexican Navy during an operation in which a navy dog found him hiding among some bushes. <\/p>\n

\u201cCaro Quintero, a cartel kingpin who unleashed violence, destruction, and death across the United States and Mexico, has spent four decades atop DEA\u2019s most wanted fugitives list, and today we can proudly say he has arrived in the United States where justice will be served,\u201d DEA Acting Administrator Derek S. Maltz said in a February 27 press release. <\/p>\n

Judge Robert M. Levy clarified in court that Caro Quintero was expelled from Mexico under a provision within the national security law, which permits the Mexican government to remove an individual without undergoing the formal extradition process. <\/p>\n

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<\/div>\n
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Members of the Mexican National Guard stand outside Altiplano Federal Penitentiary, where drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero was imprisoned, on the outskirts of Mexico City in 2022.<\/span> <\/div>
Luis Cortes\/Reuters<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Frank A. Tarentino II, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration for New York Division, speaks following a hearing for Rafael Caro Quintero at the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse on Friday.<\/span> <\/div>
Brendan McDermid\/Reuters<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Alder Marin-Sotelo<\/h2>\n

Alder Marin-Sotelo and his brother were charged with the murder of Wake County, NC sheriff\u2019s deputy Ned Byrd in August 2022 . Prosecutors accuse Marin-Sotelo of shooting and killing Byrd during a traffic stop. <\/p>\n

In May 2023, while awaiting trial in a Virginia jail, Marin-Sotelo and another inmate managed to escape, with Marin-Sotelo fleeing to Mexico. He was captured there less than a week after his escape. His sister was later arrested and pleaded guilty in federal court to help him escape by paying $2,500 to arrange for the getaway car, according to court documents. <\/p>\n

Court documents indicate that both Alder Marin-Sotelo and his brother are scheduled for arraignment in court on March 3. <\/p>\n

Andrew Clark<\/h2>\n

Clark is the only Canadian citizen among the 29 prisoners. Known as \u201cEl Dictador,\u201d or \u201cthe Dictator,\u201d Mexican authorities captured Clark in Mexico in October 2024, and soon after the US Department of Justice hit him with a 16-count superseding indictment. <\/p>\n

The DOJ alleges that Clark was one of two figures at the head of a massive drug-smuggling ring bringing \u201chundreds of kilograms of cocaine, from Colombia, through Mexico and Southern California, to Canada and other locations in the United States,\u201d according to a department press release in October 2024. <\/p>\n

He\u2019s further alleged to have ordered numerous murders. Clark\u2019s accused co-conspirator is a Canadian former Olympic snowboarder, Ryan Wedding, who remains at large in Mexico, according to the FBI. <\/p>\n

Jos\u00e9 \u00c1ngel Canobbio Inzunza<\/h2>\n

Also known as \u201cEl G\u00fcerito\u201d and\/or \u201cEl 90,\u201d Canobbio is allegedly the leader of the armed group Los Chimales. According to Mexico\u2019s top security agency, Canobbio was the second in command of the criminal group Los Chapitos \u2013 a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel led by Joaqu\u00edn \u201cEl Chapo\u201d Guzman\u2019s sons. <\/p>\n

In November 2024, a federal grand jury in Chicago indicted Canobbio \u201cfor allegedly manufacturing cocaine, fentanyl, and other drugs in Mexico and importing them into the United States,\u201d according to the DOJ. <\/p>\n

Norberto Valencia Gonz\u00e1lez<\/h2>\n

Valencia is accused of money laundering as a financial operator for the Beltr\u00e1n Leyva Cartel, according to a press release from Mexico\u2019s federal security agency SSPC. US Attorney General Pam Bondi\u2019s statement on his extradition says that he faces \u201cup to life imprisonment.\u201d <\/p>\n

Jos\u00e9 Alberto Garc\u00eda Vilano<\/h2>\n

Known by his nickname \u201cLa Kena,\u201d Mexican authorities say Garcia is accused of drug trafficking and money laundering. Allegedly, Garcia was the leader of the Los Ciclones group in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, one of the Gulf Cartel\u2019s offshoots. In a February 28 press release, the Justice Department said that Garcia was charged with drug trafficking and money-laundering-related crimes. <\/p>\n

The Gulf Cartel is infamous for allegations that it kidnapped four American tourists in Tamaulipas in 2023, killing two. Authorities believe the cartel had mistaken the tourists for Haitian drug traffickers. <\/p>\n

Evaristo Cruz S\u00e1nchez<\/h2>\n

Alias \u201cEl Vaquero,\u201d according to SSPC, Cruz is accused of drug trafficking as a regional leader of the Gulf Cartel \u2013 one of the six Mexican cartels now considered terrorist organizations by the US government. <\/p>\n

In the same press release announcing Garcia\u2019s capture, the Justice Department said that it charged Cruz in a \u201cnine-count indictment for his involvement in drug trafficking between 2015 through 2021.\u201d <\/p>\n

Miguel and Omar Trevi\u00f1o Morales<\/h2>\n

Alleged former leaders of Los Zetas, like other members of the cartel, who often take on nommes de guerre beginning with \u201cZ,\u201d these two brothers are known by their respective aliases \u201cZ-40\u201d and \u201cZ-42.\u201d Founded by former members of the Mexican Special Forces and once powerful, according to InSight Crime, the Los Zetas cartel is currently weak and fragmented. <\/p>\n

Miguel is allegedly the founder of the Cartel del Noreste \u2013 now considered a terrorist group by the US. Before his capture in 2015, Omar was considered a potential successor, according to InSight Crime in 2021. <\/p>\n

Who are the remaining 20 prisoners?<\/h2>\n

The other 20 prisoners are all accused members or lower-level leaders of cartels and other criminal groups in Mexico, according to a press release from Mexico\u2019s top security agency. Among them are alleged members of Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG), Cartel Del Noreste, and the Sinaloa Cartel \u2013 all now considered terror organizations by the US government. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

This post appeared first on cnn.com<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mexico has extradited 29 alleged criminals to the United States, among them the so-called \u201cnarco of narcos\u201d Rafael Caro Quintero, many accused of murder and several alleged members of cartels now designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations. Here\u2019s what you need to know about the extradited men and the accusations leveled against them. Rafael Caro Quintero <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13872,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-13871","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13871","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13871"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13871\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13871"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13871"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13871"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}