NEW: Mexico Caves In Major Win For Trump

Mexico’s president Claudia Sheinbaum made a significant concession to President Donald Trump on Tuesday, one that makes good on her commitment to escalating pressure on cartel kingpins directing the flow of deadly drugs into the U.S.

Twenty-six high-ranking members of various Mexican cartels will be turned over to U.S. authorities in what marks the latest deal between Trump and Sheinbaum. Both leaders are working under a 90-day pause to negotiate the end to some of Trump’s tariffs on fentanyl, steel, vehicles, and other goods.

A person familiar with the exchange said the 26 individuals will be flown to the U.S. from Mexico immediately. Among the most dangerous are Abigael González Valencia, a leader of “Los Cuinis,” a group closely aligned with the notorious cartel known as Jalisco New Generation or CJNG.

Another prisoner, Roberto Salazar, is accused by U.S. authorities are participating in the 2008 killing of a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy.

Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office and Security confirmed the transfer took place, but only after U.S. officials promised not to seek the death penalty for any of the men.

Tuesday’s prisoner transfer the second between Trump and Sheinbaum. In February, 29 cartel figures were handed over to the U.S. with rap sheets that included charges related to drug smuggling, human trafficking, kidnapping, extortion, and homicide. Rafael Caro Quintero, who was accused of murdering a U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency officer in 1985, was among that group.

The transfers occurred just days before Trump’s punishing 25% tariffs on most Mexican imports were set to take effect. The 90-day deal limits the imposition of 30% tariffs on a host of other imports to the U.S.

Sheinbaum has been more diplomatic in her engagement with Trump compared to her predecessor, but she has drawn a line in the sand when it comes to Mexico’s autonomy. She declined Trump’s offer to send the U.S. military into Mexico in a bid to crush the cartels, WTOP reported.

The Trump administration has prioritized the dismantling of cartels and made its pledge central to negotiations with Mexico over the future of trade. That includes Trump’s designation of CJNG and other cartels affected by Tuesday’s transfer as foreign terrorist organizations.

Although cartels are often associating with drug smuggling, their modern networks are far superior to those dramatized in television dramas. Border crossings under Trump have fallen to near-negligible levels, taking a valuable commodity — humans — off the table for now.

Fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid responsible for nearly 75% of all overdose deaths in the U.S., continues to be a significant revenue stream. In addition, money laundering and public corruption have emerged as new methods of raising revenue while the Trump administration continues to crack down on illegal drugs crossing the southern border.