Mexico has sent drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, who was behind the killing of a U.S. DEA agent in 1985, to the United States with 28 prisoners requested by the U.S. government, a Mexican government official and other sources confirmed Thursday.

Mexico has sent Quintero and 28 other cartel figures to the U.S. as the Trump Administration turns up the pressure on drug trafficking organizations.

Mexico announced on Thursday that it began sending the U.S. nearly 30 jailed convicts with ties to violent drug cartels.

Rafael Caro Quintero, the notorious Mexican drug lord convicted of orchestrating the 1985 murder of a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent, was extradited to the United States on Thursday alongside 28 other cartel members.

According to the Mexico government, the drug cartel members sent to the US on Thursday were brought from prisons across Mexico to board planes that took them to eight US cities.

Mexico has extradited Rafael Caro Quintero alongside 28 prisoners to the US. The extradition aims to address crimes including drug trafficking. This move is part of Mexico's efforts to prevent US tariffs threatened by President Trump.

Along with Mexican drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, 28 others were sent to the United States as the Trump administration turns up the pressure on drug trafficking organisations.