Notorious Mexican drug lord Itiel Palacios Garcia, known by aliases "El Playa" and "El Compa Playa," has been extradited from Mexico to face justice in the United States, as announced by Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Matthew Podolsky and Acting DEA Administrator Derek S. Maltz. The charges brought against Garcia include conspiracy to import cocaine, possession, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices, he saw a judge and was ordered to be held without bail following his extradition, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
According to the detailed allegations, Garcia is accused of leading a prolific drug trafficking organization operating out of Guerrero, Mexico, between at least 2012 and 2020, during which he and his co-conspirators allegedly trafficked large amounts of cocaine sourced from various countries including Guatemala, and furthermore they transported these narcotics through Mexico to the U.S., employing heavy weaponry such as firearms, assault rifles, and grenades to not only protect their operations but to conduct violent battles against rival factions including the Los Zetas cartel. Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky, emphasizing the gravity of Garcia's crimes, said in a statement obtained by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, "As alleged, for years, Itiel Palacios Garcia led a violent drug trafficking organization in Mexico that directed vast quantities of cocaine into communities in the United States."
Noteworthy is an incident from 2016 when Garcia and his associates reportedly used an aircraft to move approximately 800 kilograms of cocaine from Colombia to Venezuela, before reaching Guatemala, and eventually the U.S., exemplifying the scale and sophistication of the operations, alongside another attempt in 2020 which ended tragically when a plane crashed in Guatemala's El Petén region resulting in the loss of both pilots and the recovery of a similar cocaine haul by Guatemalan authorities. Now in U.S. custody, Garcia faces a series of severe charges: conspiracy to import cocaine into the U.S., use of machine guns and destructive devices in relation to drug trafficking, with the potential sentences reaching up to life in prison as prescribed by Congress, though any sentencing will ultimately be determined by the judge.
The dedicated efforts of multiple DEA offices, particularly the Special Operations Division, Bilateral Investigations Unit, as well as the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the U.S. Marshals Service, have been lauded by Mr. Podolsky for their investigative work leading to Garcia's extradition and the prosecution will be managed by the National Security and International Narcotics Unit with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicholas S. Bradley, Jane Y. Chong, Sarah L. Kushner, Alexander Li, Daniel G. Nessim, David J. Robles, and Kyle A. Wirshba spearheading the case.
