McALLEN, Texas — A previously convicted cartel human smuggler was extradited from Mexico to serve a life-term in a U.S. prison. The fugitive was sentenced in absentia for kidnapping and threatening to sever the fingers of an 8-year-old girl.

Last week, agents with the FBI were able to work with the Mexican government to extradite Texas-born Luis Gerardo Betancourt, a fugitive in connection with a cartel kidnapping in the border city of Pharr. Mexican authorities arrested Betancourt in October and extradited to Texas last week.

Betancourt was sentenced in absentia to a life-term in prison in July 2017 by U.S. District Judge Randy Crane. The sentence followed his conviction on human smuggling and kidnapping charges, Breitbart Texas reported at the time. Prior to his trial, Betancourt fled to Mexico until his capture by local authorities.

The case began on November 30, 2015, when a Mexican woman living illegally in Florida made arrangements for her 8-year-old daughter to be smuggled into Texas. The cartel smugglers, led by Betancourt, began making phone calls demanding more than $18,000 or they would kill the young girl. They threatened to sever body parts to pressure the deal.

FBI agents traced the phone number and interviewed Betancourt, who kept denying his role in the case. The criminal indictment claims he lied to authorities during the investigation.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and Stephen K. Bannon. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.

Brandon Darby is managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and Stephen K. Bannon. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.