Top Mexican prosecutor defends transfer of accused drug lords as legal

MEXICO CITY, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Mexican Attorney General Alejandro Gertz defended on Friday the legality of the government's handover of 29 suspected cartel leaders to the United States a day earlier, arguing that national security laws allowed it.

Gertz, speaking at a news conference alongside other security and military officials, added that Mexico's prohibition on the death penalty should be respected by other countries. Several of the individuals handed over to U.S. authorities face possible death sentences, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.