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Mexician Court Approves Detention Order for El Chapo's Extradition

The Mexican Attorney General's office (PGR), issued a statement today (available here in Spanish) saying that a federal judge has approved an order of detention for Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman-Loera for the purposes of extradition to the U.S.

The statement says the Judge reviewed the U.S. request for extradition submitted in late June, 2015, and found it meets the treaty requirements.

Of course, first he must be recaptured alive, and second, he gets to challenge his extradition in court, which could take a year or more. [More...]

As to where he he would be sent, as I wrote here, in another press release a few weeks ago (use google translate) , Mexico's Attorney General said the request was made for his 1996 Indictment in San Diego. The case was indicted in 1995, and he was added as a defendant in 1996. That's the case involving the tunnel from Tijuana to Otay Mesa, CA, discovered by Mexico, and the seizure of 7.3 tons of cocaine masked inside cans of chili peppers. One defendant, Enrique Avalos-Barriga, went to trial and is serving life. The others pleaded guilty and were released ages ago.

I uploaded the story from the Government's point of view as contained in its trial brief in the 1996 case here.

Here's the Google translation of today's press release from Mexico.

Mexico, D.F., to July 30, 2015

Bulletin 331/15

In response to a formal request for extradition by the Government of the United States, through diplomatic channels leading, and derived from a process of analysis and diagnosis of such request, on 29 July this year, the Attorney General's Office obtained -from Third District Judge of Federal Criminal Proceedings in the Federal-formal detention order for extradition of Joaquin Guzman Loera District.

During the analysis conducted by the PGR it was verified that the application meets the requirements of the Extradition Treaty between the two countries and with the requirements mandated by the Mexican legislation.

Why would the U.S. seek El Chapo's extradition on a case where the charges are 25 years old, as opposed to more recent cases such as those in Chicago, the Eastern District of New York or the Western District of Texas?

Perhaps the reason it took the U.S. more than a arrest in Feb. 2014 to "update" its ancient extradition request in the San Diego case was so it could include material justifying El Chapo's extradition on cases in some of the other districts as well. (In addition to the districts mentioned above, he's indicted in the Southern District of Florida, New Hampshire, and the Southern District of New York. The Government dismissed the indictment against him in Arizona in 2012.)

It seems to me if the U.S. only sought extradition on the San Diego charges, which is what Mexico said, that's where he would have to be tried, unless the Diplomatic Note contains a request that Mexico waive the rule of specialty. If Mexico agreed to waive the rule,then the U.S. could try Chapo on offenses that occurred after the San Diego offense in other districts.

As to where El Chapo is hiding, while Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras are possibilities, as is perhaps Venezuela or Cuba, I still think he's back home, somewhere in the mountains of the "Golden Triangle" between Chihuahua, Sinaloa and Durango. His case is more about his talent for corruption and bribery than drug dealing, and if his escape shows anything, it's that his protection is so deep in Mexico he'd be a fool to risk going elsewhere.

The reality is that capturing or extraditing El Chapo or any other "kingpin" will have no effect on the flow of drugs into the U.S. Mexico should be fighting corruption and the U.S. should stop pretending otherwise.

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  • Display: Sort:
    The Mexican Government (5.00 / 1) (#4)
    by Uncle Chip on Fri Jul 31, 2015 at 10:39:53 AM EST
    is suffering from Post Partum El Chapo Tunnel Vision

    "They seek him here, (none / 0) (#1)
    by Mr Natural on Fri Jul 31, 2015 at 09:00:10 AM EST
    They seek him there,
    Los Federales seek him everywhere,
    That dammed elusive ChapoEl

    - with apologies to Baroness Emma Orczy.

    Or (none / 0) (#3)
    by FlJoe on Fri Jul 31, 2015 at 09:35:56 AM EST
    All the Federales say
    We could have had him any day.
    We only let him slip away
    Out of kindness, I suppose
    M.Haggard, W. Nelson

    Parent
    It seems strange that they (none / 0) (#2)
    by fishcamp on Fri Jul 31, 2015 at 09:10:51 AM EST
    had a tunnel from Tijuana to Otay Mesa, Ca.  There is a border crossing, for vehicles only five miles east of Tijuana, named Otay.  I have crossed there many times to avoid the busy Tijuana crossing.

    the point was to avoid (none / 0) (#6)
    by Jeralyn on Fri Jul 31, 2015 at 02:42:30 PM EST
    he border crossing. The trucks were loaded with cocaine hidden in chili pepper cans at a warehouse in Guadalajara, driven to the warehouse at Tijuana, where they were to go into the tunnel to avoid the border crossing.  The plan was to have the tunnel end inside the Otay Mesa warehouse, and the chili pepper cans would then be loaded onto different trucks and driven through the U.S.  

    The Otay Mesa side of the tunnel wasn't quite finished when the Mexicans discovered the tunnel in Tijuana in May, 1993, after stopping a truck with 7.3 tons of cocaine hidden in 1,400 cases of canned chili peppers that was en route to the Tijuana warehouse. Mexico told the DEA about it. From Tijuana, the tunnel went for about 1400 feet and ended in Otay Mesa, about 100 yards from the Otay Mesa warehouse.


    Parent

    Wow, great story and (none / 0) (#9)
    by fishcamp on Fri Jul 31, 2015 at 06:59:58 PM EST
    Good sleuthing.

    Parent
    A line from (none / 0) (#5)
    by Jeralyn on Fri Jul 31, 2015 at 01:43:11 PM EST
    Los Senor de los Cielos last night: "a wounded deer leaps higher"

    they stole that from E. Dickinson (none / 0) (#7)
    by Reconstructionist on Fri Jul 31, 2015 at 03:52:50 PM EST
    A wounded deer leaps highest,

    A wounded deer leaps highest,
    I've heard the hunter tell;
    'Tis but the ecstasy of death,
    And then the brake is still.

    The smitten rock that gushes,
    The trampled steel that springs:
    A cheek is always redder
    Just where the hectic stings!

    Mirth is mail of anguish,
    In which its cautious arm
    Lest anybody spy the blood
    And, "you're hurt" exclaim


    Parent

    Completely off topic; (none / 0) (#11)
    by Zorba on Fri Jul 31, 2015 at 09:14:34 PM EST
    it has nothing to do with El Chapo.

    no, (none / 0) (#12)
    by Reconstructionist on Sat Aug 01, 2015 at 09:59:59 AM EST
     but it does relate to the quoted line from the soap opera. I was merely providing the original source and the meaning the line is meant to convey.

      That meaning might be summarized as, don't mistake an energetic reaction from the wounded as a sign of enduring strength.

    Parent