The US praised Mexico for extraditing an "unprecedented" group of alleged drug lords north to face justice -- a move that could up the ante in Mexico's drug war and prevent traffickers from running cartels from prisons.
The extradition late Friday of the purported head of the Gulf Cartel, Osiel Cardenas, and three other high-profile suspected drug barons is part of Mexican President Felipe Calderon's offensive against drug traffickers and their turf battles marked by executions, shootouts and beheadings.
Eleven other alleged criminals wanted in the US on a variety of charges were also extradited.
"The actions overnight by the Mexican government are unprecedented in their scope and importance," US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said in a statement on Saturday.
"Never before has the United States received from Mexico such a large number of major drug defendants and other criminals for prosecution in this country," he said.
Mexico's attorney general's office released photos of the extradition showing the balding Cardenas being escorted onto a plane bound for the US in handcuffs, surrounded by US and Mexican agents.
"Some of the most brutal criminals in the history of our two countries have been extradited from Mexico to the United States to face justice," US Ambassador Tony Garza said in a statement released on Friday night.
Mexico has shown more willingness to extradite drug lords, even those facing life in prison: It extradited a record 63 alleged criminals to the US last year alone, but refuses to send anyone to the US who would face the death penalty, which is illegal in Mexico.
Australians were downloading virtual private networks (VPNs) in droves, while one of the world’s largest porn distributors said it was blocking users from its platforms as the country yesterday rolled out sweeping online age restriction. Australia in December became the first country to impose a nationwide ban on teenagers using social media. A separate law now requires artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbot services to keep certain content — including pornography, extreme violence and self-harm and eating disorder material — from minors or face fines of up to A$49.5 million (US$34.6 million). The country also joined Britain, France and dozens of US states requiring
Hungarian authorities temporarily detained seven Ukrainian citizens and seized two armored cars carrying tens of millions of euros in cash across Hungary on suspicion of money laundering, officials said on Friday. The Ukrainians were released on Friday, following their detention on Thursday, but Hungarian officials held onto the cash, prompting Ukraine to accuse Hungary’s Russia-friendly government of illegally seizing the money. “We will not tolerate this state banditism,” Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha said. The seven detained Ukrainians were employees of the Ukrainian state-owned Oschadbank, who were traveling in the two armored cars that were carrying the money between Austria and
Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani on Friday after dissolving the Kosovar parliament said a snap election should be held as soon as possible to avoid another prolonged political crisis in the Balkan country at a time of global turmoil. Osmani said it is important for Kosovo to wrap up the upcoming election process and form functional institutions for political stability as the war rages in the Middle East. “Precisely because the geopolitical situation is that complex, it is important to finish this electoral process which is coming up,” she said. “It is very hard now to imagine what will happen next.” Kosovo, which declared
MORE BANS: Australia last year required sites to remove accounts held by under-16s, with a few countries pushing for similar action at an EU level and India considering its own ban Indonesia on Friday said it would ban social media access for children under 16, citing threats from online pornography, cyberbullying, online fraud and Internet addiction. “Accounts belonging to children under 16 on high-risk platforms will start to be deactivated, beginning with YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox,” Indonesian Minister of Communications and Digital Meutya Hafid said. “The government is stepping in so that parents no longer have to fight alone against the giants of the algorithm. Implementation will begin on March 28, 2026,” she said. The social media ban would be introduced in stages “until all platforms fulfill their
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