White House touts extradition of cartel figures amid Trump admin crackdown

"Today, the United States secured custody of 29 defendants from Mexico who are facing charges in districts around the country relating to racketeering, drug-trafficking, murder, illegal use of firearms, money laundering, and other crimes," the DOJ noted in a Thursday press release.

"President Trump directed the Department of Justice and the Department of State to make this happen, and Attorney General Bondi and Secretary of State Rubio did a tremendous job in getting this done," the White House press secretary said in a statement on Friday.

The statement noted that the group "includes one of the most evil cartel bosses in the world, Rafael Caro Quintero, who tortured and murdered DEA Agent Kiki Camerena in 1985." 

"The previous Administration allowed these criminals to run free and commit crimes all over the world. The Trump Administration is declaring these thugs as terrorists, because that is what they are, and demanding justice for the American people," the statement adds.

Notorious entities including MS-13 and Tren de Aragua were among those designated.

"The defendants taken into U.S. custody today include leaders and managers of drug cartels recently designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists, such as the Sinaloa Cartel, Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), Cártel del Noreste (formerly Los Zetas), La Nueva Familia Michoacana, and Cártel de Golfo (Gulf Cartel)," the Department of Justice noted in its Thursday press release.

FBI Director Kash Patel, who was just sworn in last week, declared that the federal law enforcement agency and its "partners will scour the ends of the earth to bring terrorists and cartel members to justice," the release noted.

"The era of harming Americans and walking free is over," he said.

Fox News' Kaitlin Sprague contributed to this report