Ovidio Guzman, one of the sons of incarcerated drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, was extradited to the US, Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
Guzman, the alleged leader of a major drug trafficking organization suspected of funneling narcotics to the US, was taken out of a Mexican prison by Interpol agents for his extradition, Milenio newspaper reported earlier citing US government officials.
The extradition of Guzman comes amid US pressure on Mexico to curb fentanyl trafficking and Republican presidential candidates vowing to send the military to Mexico to disrupt shipments and fight cartels.
The alleged drug trafficker was arrested in January in Culiacan, in Sinaloa state, in the midst of a wave of violence in the city that left one police officer dead and 27 people injured. He later was transferred to Mexico City, where he remained in the Altiplano prison until Friday.
Guzman is considered the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, a top producer and distributor of fentanyl and other drugs. He was released by the Mexican government after his capture in October 2019 led to widespread violence across Culiacan.
