US extradites top drug lord 'El Guero Palma' to Mexico

Drug lord Hector 'El Guero' Palma is escorted by US authorities before being turned over to Mexican authorities at the Puente Nuevo international bridge in Brownsville, US, opposite the Mexican border city of Matamoros, Mexico, June 15, 2016. Picture taken from the Mexico side of the US-Mexico border.  [Photo/Agencies]

MEXICO CITY -- US authorities on Wednesday extradited drug lord Hector Palma Salazar, alias "El Guero Palma", to Mexican authorities at a border crossing in the city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas.

Just after 5 pm, American agents turned over Palma Salazar, who was released from prison in California on June 10, after completing 85 percent of a 16-year sentence for smuggling 50 kilos of cocaine from Mexico to the US.

Since then, he had been in custody of immigration officials, prior to his extradition.

An Mexican official told Xinhua that the drug lord and accomplice of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmon in the Sinaloa Cartel would be flown to Mexico in the evening.

Until now, Mexico's prosecutor-general has not ruled on whether Palma Salazar would face new charges in Mexico or would be set free.