US seeks extradition of Mexican drug lord

The United States wants Mexico to extradite a Mexican fugitive who has been involved in drug-related money laundering:

U.S. law enforcement officials are seeking the extradition to the United States of a Mexican fugitive accused of being the financial manager for a drug cartel based in Mexico's city of Juarez, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency announced.

In a February 1 statement, ICE said Jose Alvarez-Tostado, arrested by Mexican authorities in late January, is one of the U.S. agency's 10 most wanted fugitives and was designated as a "Foreign Narcotics Kingpin" by the U.S. government in June 2001.

Alvarez was indicted by the United States in May 1998 in Los Angeles for operating a continuing criminal enterprise, for money laundering and conspiracy to launder money, and for conspiracy to aid and abet the distribution of a controlled substance, said ICE, which is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

According to the U.S. indictment, Alvarez served as the de facto financial manager of Mexico's Juarez drug cartel, collecting and laundering millions of dollars from cartel drug sales in cities across the United States.

Among other charges, the indictment alleges that Alvarez collected more than $40 million from drug sales and transferred the funds to Mexican accounts on behalf of Amado Carrillo Fuentes, the reputed chief of the Juarez drug cartel until his death in 1997 during plastic surgery to change his appearance.

Hopefully the Mexicans will not drag their feet over extraditing Jose Alvarez-Tostado the way they did with Augustin Vasquez-Mendoza.