⁍ Salvador Cienfuegos, 72, was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on Thursday.
⁍ He was taken into custody on an indictment handed down in U.S. District Court in New York.
⁍ Prosecutors are expected to seek his removal to New York in the coming weeks.
– Former Mexican Defense Minister Salvador “El Padrino” Cienfuegos was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on Thursday, making him the first former Mexican defense minister ever to be indicted and detained in the US, Reuters reports. According to the New York Times, Cienfuegos is accused of protecting a faction of the Beltran-Leyva narcotics cartel, directing operations against rival gangs, and finding maritime transport for drug shipments. Prosecutors are expected to seek Cienfuegos’ extradition to New York in the coming weeks.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-politics-cienfuegos/former-mexican-defense-minister-ordered-held-in-us-custody-idUSKBN27134Y