Mexico Requests US Extradition of Alleged Mastermind in Journalist Javier Valdez’s Killing

The government of Mexico has formally requested the United States to extradite a prominent figure from a drug cartel, who is suspected of involvement in the 2017 murder of acclaimed journalist Javier Valdez. Mr. Valdez, recognized for his award-winning reporting on drug trafficking, was fatally shot in Culiacán in May 2017. Mexican officials assert that Dámaso López Serrano, previously a high-ranking member of the Sinaloa drug cartel, ordered the journalist’s killing. López Serrano, also known by the alias “Mini Lic” according to the US Justice Department, was apprehended in Virginia on December 13 on charges related to fentanyl trafficking. During a press conference held this week, Mexican Attorney General Alejandro Gertz declared López Serrano to be the “mastermind” behind Valdez’s murder. Gertz stated, “We have already prosecuted the rest of the perpetrators and they are in jail.” He further noted that Mexico had sought López Serrano’s extradition “on countless occasions,” but these requests were denied as US authorities regarded him as a “protected witness” who “was giving them a lot of information.” Investigators surmise that López Serrano commanded Valdez’s assassination due to his displeasure with the journalist’s reporting on internal power disputes within the Sinaloa cartel. Dámaso López Núñez, López Serrano’s father, was identified as a crucial lieutenant to cartel leader Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. After Guzmán’s apprehension and extradition to the United States, López Núñez initiated a violent struggle for dominance over the cartel, but was eventually apprehended during a raid in Mexico City in 2017. López Serrano voluntarily surrendered to US authorities in July 2017 to face drug trafficking accusations, agreeing to cooperate in return for a reduced sentence. At that point, US law enforcement officials characterized him as the “highest ranking Mexican cartel leader” to “self-surrender” within the US. He was paroled from prison in 2022. On Friday, he was re-arrested to face new fentanyl trafficking charges. When he was killed, Valdez had been reporting on a violent internal power struggle within the Sinaloa cartel, which involved López Núñez and López Serrano opposing Guzmán’s sons. Eight days prior to his death, Valdez published a column where he depicted López Serrano as spoiled, “good for chatting but not business,” and a “weekend gunman with a prop pistol.” Mexico stands as one of the most perilous nations globally for journalists. Figures from Reporters Without Borders indicate that over 150 journalists have been murdered in the country since 1994. The year 2022 saw at least 15 journalists killed, marking it among the most violent years on record for Mexican journalists. This violence has persisted. In October, a journalist was fatally shot in the conflict-ridden city of Uruapan. The subsequent day, an entertainment reporter was killed inside her own restaurant in the state of Colima. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC holds no responsibility for the content of external sites. Details concerning our approach to external linking are available.