Alleged leader in Mexican ‘narco-terror’ case, others expelled by Mexico appear in San Diego court

Five alleged drug traffickers, including two suspected of being high-ranking members of the Sinaloa cartel, appeared Wednesday in San Diego federal court a day after Mexican authorities sent them and 32 other alleged cartel figures to the U.S. to face charges.

Tuesday marked the third time since President Donald Trump’s return to the White House that Mexico has forgone the lengthy extradition process and instead expelled large batches of suspected cartel members to the U.S. Mexican Security Minister Omar García Harfuch said on social media that the 37 people sent to the U.S. on Tuesday “represented a real threat to the country’s security.” He said 92 people have now been sent to the U.S. in the three recent expulsions.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said that although the transfers were made at the request of the U.S. government, the decision was taken by her country’s National Security Council after analyzing what was “convenient for Mexico” and in terms of its “national security.”

“Mexico is put first above all else, even if they ask for whatever they have to ask for. It is a sovereign decision,” she said at her regular morning news briefing.

Four of those who arrived Tuesday to the U.S. have been indicted by federal grand juries in San Diego and made initial appearances Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. A fifth defendant who was also expelled from Mexico appeared Wednesday in San Diego federal cour...