Jesús Ricardo Patrón Sánchez, known as 'H-3', was extradited from Mexico to the United States on Friday, February 21, 2025, to face multiple charges of drug trafficking, firearms use, and money laundering. Patrón Sánchez, also identified by the nicknames 'Diabolic', 'Vela', 'James Bond', and 'Xmen', was accused of leading the H-2 criminal organization of the Beltrán Leyva, a transnational cartel with a history of violence and drug trafficking. The extradition was confirmed by the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, John J. Durham, and the Special Agent in charge of the DEA in Los Angeles, Matthew Allen, through a statement.
According to the allegations, Patrón Sánchez became the main leader of the H-2 cartel after the death of his brother, Juan Francisco Patrón Sánchez, alias 'H-2', in Tepic, Nayarit, on February 10, 2017. The cartel, originating from Nayarit and Sinaloa, primarily distributed large amounts of heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana in various states of the United States, including Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York, and North Carolina, among others.
During the extradition hearing, which took place on February 22, 2025, at the Brooklyn Federal Court, he was presented with a formal charge for running an ongoing criminal enterprise and participating in a conspiracy to distribute narcotics on a large scale. He is also attributed with multiple homicides and the coordination of money laundering activities related to the illicit proceeds generated by drug trafficking.
"As alleged in the indictment, Patrón Sánchez was one of the main leaders of a brutally violent criminal organization that flooded the streets of the United States with dangerous drugs and protected its operations through murder and corruption," declared prosecutor Durham.
The DEA, in collaboration with Mexican agencies, captured Patrón Sánchez in Mexico in 2019, and his extradition was carried out thanks to a formal request from the Office of International Affairs of the U.S. Department of Justice, with the support of the Mexican federal police and other international entities. The 39-year-old defendant faces a possible penalty of life imprisonment if convicted of the charges in the indictment.
The prosecution has emphasized that investigations continue under the framework of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) initiative, which seeks to dismantle large-scale criminal organizations.
Following the arrest of General Salvador Cienfuegos, former Secretary of Public Security during Enrique Peña Nieto's administration, in October 2020, the charges linked to drug trafficking were directly connected to the judicial process of Jesús Ricardo Patrón Sánchez. In the same indictment, other names such as Carlos Silva Arellano, 'Bolas', José Dagoberto Cortés Pérez, and Kenia Alejandra Valdez Álvarez are found. Deovaldo Gutiérrez Alfaron, an operator of the cartel in Nevada, is also involved. Some of these defendants would have testified against Salvador Cienfuegos if the judicial process had continued. The next hearing for Jesús Ricardo Patrón Sánchez has not yet been scheduled but is expected to take place in late April 2025.
