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U.S. praises extradition of drug lords from Mexico

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published January 21, 2007

MEXICO CITY - Mexico's extradition of four reputed drug lords drew praise from the U.S. attorney general on Saturday and signaled its new determination to keep traffickers from running their cartels from inside prison walls.

U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said the Friday extraditions were "unprecedented in their scope and importance."

Osiel Cardenas, the alleged Gulf cartel leader who was believed to be running his gang from prison in Mexico, was sent north late Friday along with 14 others wanted by the United States after their appeals against extradition ran out, the office of Mexico's attorney general said.

"Never before has the United States received from Mexico such a large number of major drug defendants and other criminals for prosecution in this country," Gonzales said in a statement on Saturday.

The Mexican attorney general's office said the extraditions were also aimed at cracking down on turf battles between drug cartels, which have cost hundreds of lives in recent months in states like Michoacan, Guerrero, Baja California and Sinaloa.

"This changes the rules, as far as drug traffickers' impunity and the potential punishment they face," said Oscar Aguilar, a political science professor at Mexico City's Iberoamerican University.

Mexican officials have said that Cardenas and top members of the Tijuana cartel had forged an alliance while locked up at a maximum-security prison just west of Mexico City, where they organized to fight turf wars against rival drug lords.

In 1999, U.S. officials said Cardenas held two U.S. agents at gunpoint in their car in a Mexican border city, then let them go saying: "You gringos, this is my territory. You can't control it, so get the hell out of here."

In the past, Mexico has been reluctant to extradite drug lords, arguing they should face justice there first. They also refused to send anyone to the United States who would face the death penalty, which is illegal in Mexico.

[Last modified January 21, 2007, 01:19:30]