Mexico Extradites Killer of US DEA Agent, 40 Years Late

US DEA Agent Enrique Camarena was murdered in Mexico in 1985. Now Mexico has extradited drug boss Rafael Caro Quintero, who is wanted for the crime, along with 28 others. Santiago Pérez and José de Córdoba have this story in the WSJ.

Better late than never.

It would be understandable for a country to refuse to extradite its citizens if it had a functioning justice system that could and would impose a just punishment domestically. But that is not the case in Mexico when it comes to the drug gangs.

The story does not indicate whether the U.S. government agreed not to seek the death penalty in return for the extradition. That has been standard in previous administrations, but we are in a new environment now.

Nor is the United States government blameless in this fiasco. The huge drug operations south of our border would not exist if our government did its duty in controlling the border and stopping the flow.