Suspected drug traffickers to be extradited to Southern California

Nine Mexicans and a Colombian, all suspected of being part of Mexican drug trafficking rings, are being extradited from Mexico for trial in the United States, the U.S. Department of Justice announced today in San Diego.

The extraditions bring to 95 the number of suspects extradited from Mexico to the U.S. this year, the most ever. The 2007 total was 83. The 10 arrived in Texas today and will face charges in Texas, Southern California and Georgia.

U.S. Atty. Gen. Michael B. Mukasey said that extraditing the 10 shows “the unrelenting commitment of Mexican President [Felipe] Calderon to break the power of the Mexican drug cartels. We stand with him.”

Among the suspects being extradited to Southern California is Armando Martinez Duarte, a former official with the Mexican attorney general’s office who allegedly became the chief of security for the Arellano-Felix cartel. He is alleged to have “policed” the Mexicali area by ordering the kidnapping, torture and murder of the cartel’s rivals.

--Tony Perry