Mexican Security and Citizen Protection Minister Omar Garcia Harfuch, right, and Mexican General Prosecutor Alejandro Gertz Manero attend a news conference in Mexico City, Aug. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano, File)2026-01-20T18:50:50Z MEXICO CITY (AP) Mexicos security minister said Tuesday that it had sent another 37 members of Mexican drug cartels to the United States, as the Trump administration ratchets up pressure on governments to crack down on criminal networks it says are smuggling drugs across the border.Mexican Security Minister Omar Garca Harfuch wrote in a social media post on X that the people transferred were high impact criminals that represented a real threat to the countrys security.It is the third time in less than one year that Mexico has sent detained cartel members to the U.S. as the country attempts to offset mounting threats by U.S. President Donald Trump. Garca Harfuch said the government has sent 92 people in total.The U.S. State Department and Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for commentTuesdays transfer included figures from the Sinaloa Cartel, the Beltrn-Leyva cartel, Jalisco New Generation Cartel, the Northeast Cartel, a remnant of the infamous Zetas based in the Mexican border state of Tamaulipas, across from Texas. Mexican authorities said that all had pending U.S. cases. Trump has entertained the idea of military action on Mexican cartels, language that has only gotten more combative since a U.S. military operation in Venezuela deposed former President Nicols Maduro earlier this month. Turning his attention to Mexico shortly after the Venezuela attack, Trump said in an interview with Fox News: Weve knocked out 97% of the drugs coming in by water and we are going to start now hitting land, with regard to the cartels. Last week, Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum spoke with Trump, telling him that U.S. intervention in Mexico was not necessary, but emphasizing that the two governments would continue to collaborate.Last February, Mexico sent 29 cartel figures to the U.S., including drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, who was behind the killing of a U.S. DEA agent in 1985. In August, a second round saw 26 Mexican cartel figures sent to the U.S. None had the profile of Caro Quintero, but spanning multiple cartels, the figures could help U.S. prosecutors build cases. After the August transfer, Garca Harfuch said it was a public safety decision, because Mexico did not want them to continue operating their illicit businesses from inside Mexican prisons.Another transfer of prisoners to the U.S. had been rumored for weeks. Mexico has sought to assure the Trump administration that it continues to be a willing partner in combating drug traffickers.___Follow APs coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america MEGAN JANETSKY Megan Janetsky covers migration, conflict, human rights and politics in Mexico and Central America for The AP based in Mexico City. Previously, she covered Cuba and the Caribbean for The AP and worked as freelance journalist in Colombia, reporting across South America. twitter instagram facebook mailto