Mexico on 12 August transferred 26 high-profile suspects linked to the Jalisco New Generation, Sinaloa and other cartels to U.S. custody, the second mass hand-off this year after a group of 29 in February. The U.S. Department of Justice said the detainees face federal and state charges ranging from drug trafficking to kidnapping and firearms offences. Among those flown north were Abigael González Valencia, alias “El Cuini,” a senior financier of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, and Servando Gómez Martínez, known as “La Tuta,” the former head of the Caballeros Templarios. The list also includes Juan Carlos Félix Gastélum “El Chavo Félix,” linked to Sinaloa cartel figure Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada. President Claudia Sheinbaum said the measure was a sovereign decision by Mexico’s National Security Council aimed at preventing the inmates from directing crimes from prison. Security Minister Omar García Harfuch and Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero stressed that the transfer was carried out under Article 5 of the National Security Law, not the standard extradition treaty, and that Washington has agreed not to pursue the death penalty. Officials added that more transfers could follow if national-security assessments warrant them, while denying that the operation responded to U.S. pressure. With the latest flight, 55 inmates judged to be a continuing threat have been removed from Mexican prisons in less than six months.