Mexico: Senior Zetas drug cartel member Jesus Enrique Rejon Aguilar extradited to the US

GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Jesus Enrique Rejon Aguilar, one of the founding members of the hyper-violent Zetas drug cartel in Mexico, has been extradited to the United States to face drug trafficking charges, Milenio reported.

Rejon Aguilar, known as Z-7, is also suspected of being involved in the fatal shooting of a US customs official in February last year, the Associated Press reported.

The BBC reported that the former solider was handed to US Drug Enforcement Administration officers at Toluca airport on Tuesday. He has been accused of smuggling large quantities of marijuana and cocaine into the United States.

Rejon Aguilar was arrested by Mexican police in Atizapan de Zaragoza, in Mexico state, in July 2011, while on his way to visit his mother.

Reuters reported that Rejon Aguilar was allegedly one of 14 founding members of the Zetas, a gang of army deserters that worked as enforcers for the Gulf Cartel before going their own way in 2010.

He is thought to be third in command of the Zetas and was one of Mexico’s most-wanted criminals.

The Zetas, renowned for their brutality, have been blamed for much of the drug-related violence that has left more than 50,000 people dead in the past six years alone.

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