On Tuesday, January 20, Mexico transferred 37 members of criminal organizations to the United States by air.
In a third such transfer, 37 high-risk inmates facing federal trials for crimes related to organized crime, drug trafficking, and transnational crime were handed over to the United States government as part of formal requests made by the U.S. Department of Justice.
During the early hours of Tuesday, January 20, members of the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC), the National Guard, the Mexican Navy, and the Mexican Army transferred the inmates from the El Altiplano maximum-security prison, located in Almoloya de Juárez, to the Toluca International Airport (AIT) for their flight to the United States.
The transfer was confirmed by Omar García Harfuch, Mexico’s Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection, who stated on social media that the 37 inmates are operatives of criminal organizations who posed a real threat to the country’s security, hence the decision to transfer them to prisons in the United States.
He added that the action was carried out in accordance with the National Security Law and under bilateral cooperation mechanisms, with full respect for national sovereignty, and that a commitment was made not to seek the death penalty.
García Harfuch emphasized that these individuals were transported to the cities of Washington, Houston, New York, Pennsylvania, San Antonio, and San Diego aboard seven aircraft belonging to the Armed Forces.
Furthermore, he said that with this transfer, 92 high-impact criminals have now been sent to the United States during the current administration, thus preventing them from generating violence in Mexico.
Later, the federal Security Cabinet revealed that among the prisoners handed over on January 20 were high-profile criminals, including:
- Ricardo González Sauceda, alias ‘El Ricky’, regional leader of the Northeast Cartel.
- Pedro Inzunza Noriega, alias ‘El Señor de la Silla’, father of Pedro Inzunza Coronel, second-in-command of the Beltrán Leyva Cartel.
- Juan Pablo Bastidas Erenas, alias ‘Payo Zurita’, logistics operator for the Beltrán Leyva Cartel.
- Armando Gómez Núñez, alias ‘Delta 1’, leader of Los Deltas, a faction of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
- Daniel Alfredo Blanco Joo, alias ‘El Cubano’, logistics operator for the Sinaloa Cartel and a priority target for the FBI.
It should be noted that, during Monday night and early Tuesday morning, several military helicopters flew over areas of the Toluca Valley, alerting the public. However, it is now known that these maneuvers were part of the operation, which also included ground transport, to transfer the prisoners.
Previous Transfers
On February 27, 2025, in the first transfer, the Mexican government sent 29 drug traffickers to the United States, who were wanted in various courts for crimes related to organized crime.
Among them were Rafael Caro Quintero, the “Narco of Narcos”; Miguel Ángel Treviño Morales, “Z-40”; Omar Treviño Morales, “Z-42”; Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, “El Viceroy”; and José Alberto García Vilano, “La Kena.” Antonio Oseguera Cervantes, Tony Montana, and Erick Valencia Salazar, El 85.
Meanwhile, in the second round of extraditions of drug traffickers, which took place on August 12, 2025, Mexico sent 26 criminals, including members of the Sinaloa Cartel and Los Zetas.
These were Abigael González Valencia, El Cuini; Mauro Alberto Núñez Ojeda, El Jando; Juan Carlos Félix Gastélum, El Chavo Félix; Jesús Guzmán Castro, El Chuy or El Narizón; Pablo Edwin Huerta Nuno, El Flaquito; Servando Gómez Martínez, La Tuta; Kevin Gil Acosta, El 200; and Martín Zazueta Pérez, El Piyi.
Source: Portal Liberacion
