MAY 28, 2019 / 6:56 PM / UPDATED 19 HOURS AGO

Senior Sinaloa drug cartel member extradited to U.S.: Justice Department

(Reuters) - A senior member of the Mexican Sinaloa drug cartel who was charged in 2012 has been extradited to the United States and will appear in court in Texas on Wednesday to face racketeering charges, the U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday.

Jose Antonio Torres Marrufo, also known as Jaguar, was one of 24 Sinaloa Cartel members indicted by a grand jury in 2012, including its leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who was found guilty of smuggling tons of drugs to the United States after an 11-week trial in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, in February.

The Justice Department said in a statement Torres Marrufo was being brought to justice through cooperation with Mexican authorities, but did not give details on the circumstances of his arrest.

It said the indictment, among other acts, alleged that under Torres Marrufo’s orders, an American man, his brother and his uncle were kidnapped during the man’s wedding ceremony in Ciudad Juarez in Mexico, and were subsequently tortured and murdered.

Torres Maruffo will make his initial appearance in federal court in El Paso, Texas, on Wednesday, the statement said.

 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-mexico-sinaloa/senior-sinaloa-drug-cartel-member-extradited-to-us-justice-department-idUSKCN1SZ05L