The U.S. Justice Department says one of the accused killers in the March 2010 killings of three people with ties to the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico has been extradited to the United States.

U.S. authorities say Miguel Angel Nevarez appeared before a U.S. judge Friday in El Paso, Texas – just across the border from Juarez.

Nevarez, a member of the Barrio Azteca gang, is accused of taking part in the killings of a consular officer and her husband , and the husband of a consulate worker.

Nevarez also faces drug and money laundering charges, as well as conspiracy to commit racketeering and federal firearm charges.

In 2006, Mexican President Felipe Calderon launched an army-led crackdown on the country's drug gangs. Since then, more than 41,000 people have died in violence linked to the drug cartels.