Mexico on Tuesday transferred 26 inmates linked to the Jalisco New Generation and Sinaloa cartels to U.S. custody, its second mass handover of alleged drug traffickers this year. The group was moved under a bilateral arrangement that bars American prosecutors from pursuing the death penalty, according to statements from Mexico’s attorney-general’s office and the U.S. Justice Department. Among those handed over are Abigael González Valencia, reputed financier of the CJNG, and Servando Gómez Martínez, former leader of La Familia Michoacana. The men face U.S. charges ranging from cocaine and methamphetamine trafficking to homicide and weapons offences. In February, Mexico sent 29 suspects—including Rafael Caro Quintero—to the United States; the two operations bring the 2025 total to 55 high-profile transfers. The latest operation mobilised 988 military and law-enforcement personnel, 90 vehicles and 12 aircraft. Eight prisoners were flown to White Plains, six to Dulles, six to Phoenix, five to San Diego and one to New York’s JFK airport. Mexican officials said the inmates continued to orchestrate kidnappings, extortion and killings from local prisons and had sought transfers to lower-security facilities. President Claudia Sheinbaum and Security Minister Omar García Harfuch described the move as a sovereign decision driven by national-security concerns, denying that it was tied to broader trade or security negotiations. Reuters reported, however, that the action follows stepped-up pressure from President Donald Trump, who has linked possible tariffs and even military action to Mexico’s progress against cartels.