Reuters AlertNet Lite - Mexico to extradite more drug traffickers to US

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Mexico to extradite more drug traffickers to US

08 Feb 2007 21:52:02 GMT
Source: Reuters

MEXICO CITY, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Mexico plans to extradite more drug kingpins to the United States as part of President Felipe Calderon's push to combat warring cartels that killed 2,000 people last year, an official said on Thursday.

Mexico extradited four cartel leaders in January as a total of 17 men were flown to the United States. One of the men was Osiel Cardenas, who is accused of running the powerful Gulf Cartel.

"The policy of President Felipe Calderon is about reducing impunity. ... The measures (extraditions) are the main tools the Mexican state has to uphold the law," Jose Luis Santiago Vasconcelos, a senior official at Mexico's attorney general's office, told reporters.

He declined to say who would be extradited or when, but signaled that the pace of the extraditions depended on when the appeals of those accused were exhausted in Mexico. But he indicated that he expected more extraditions this year.

Mexico extradited 63 drug traffickers to the United States in 2006 and 41 in 2005, the attorney-general's office said.

Drug kingpins held in Mexican prisons often run their cartels from behind bars, making extradition crucial.

Since taking office on Dec. 1, Calderon has sent thousands of troops to combat the drug cartels that channel South American cocaine and marijuana into the United States, winning praise from the U.S. government and ordinary Mexicans.

Narcotics experts and rights groups warn of a surge in violence and potential abuses by soldiers as the cartels resist the crackdown.

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Last updated:Thu Feb 8 21:52:52 2007