Mexico transferred 26 inmates with alleged links to major drug cartels to United States custody on 12 August, the Attorney General’s Office and the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection said. The prisoners were removed from several Mexican penitentiaries and flown to the US after a request from the US Department of Justice. Among those handed over are Abigael González Valencia, reputed financial chief of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and leader of the “Los Cuinis” faction; Pablo Edwin Huerta, known as “El Flaquito” and a former Tijuana cartel figure; and Juan Carlos Félix Gastelum, alias “El Chavo Félix,” who has family ties to Sinaloa cartel boss Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada. A separate source familiar with the operation said Roberto Salazar, accused of participating in the 2008 killing of a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy, was also on the flight. Mexican officials said all 26 individuals carried final extradition orders and were deemed a permanent threat to public security. The United States agreed not to seek the death penalty, a standard Mexican condition for extradition. Public Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch said the transfer was executed under the National Security Law, the same legal framework used for a 29-inmate hand-over in February. The US Embassy in Mexico congratulated President Claudia Sheinbaum’s government for its “brave cooperation,” noting that the group includes key operatives from the CJNG and Sinaloa organisations. The move comes as Washington presses Mexico to curb fentanyl-related trafficking and while the two countries negotiate a broader security accord, underscoring deepening bilateral law-enforcement collaboration.