Mexico's Sheinbaum Downplays Reports of Another Mass Cartel Extradition to U.S. For Now: 'This Does Not Mean There Will Not Be'

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday her government is not currently planning another large-scale extradition of cartel leaders to the United States, though she did not rule out future operations.

During her regular morning press conference, Sheinbaum said extraditions proceed only when individuals have no pending legal orders in Mexico. "When there is an extradition and a person is detained and does not have an arrest warrant here, normally they are deported," she said. "If not, the extradition process must be followed." She added,

"There is no other massive transfer contemplated at this moment... . But hat does not mean there will not be," she concluded

Her comments follow a report by The Wall Street Journal that the United States and Mexico are discussing a possible third group extradition, after both countries agreed to send 55 cartel figures earlier in the year. The Journal reported that officials familiar with the talks said another transfer of high-ranking traffickers is under consideration ahead of Sheinbaum's meeting with President Donald Trump at the 2026 World Cup draw.

Extradited cartel figures included Rafael Caro Quintero, former Zetas leaders, and members of Los Chapitos, the Sinaloa Cartel faction.

A report published last week by Bloomberg noted that those extraditions were planned with unusual secrecy, citing sources who said the U.S. threatened tariffs if Mexico did not intensify cooperation. Sheinbaum defended the operations after the first bacth of extraditions as decisions made "for the security and peace of our country," insisting they were carried out under Mexican sovereignty.

Security analysts warn that continued cooperation could prompt retaliation by criminal groups. In fact, the aforementioned WSJ article from last week alluded to that risk:

"Transferring 55 drug leaders to U.S. custody was a high-stakes undercover mission that drew 2,000 Mexican special forces. Officials feared that if word got out, kingpins would attempt escapes, set off riots or file legal appeals. Authorities also believed cartels might try to assassinate their own leaders, rather than risk them spilling secrets to U.S. law enforcement"