http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/displ ... g0.3764307

23 June 2006

U.S. Envoy Praises Mexican Law Enforcement Cooperation
53 fugitives extradited or deported to U.S. in 2006




By Eric Green
Washington File Staff Writer


Washington -- The United States has congratulated the government of Mexico for its cooperation in bringing criminals to justice.

In a June 20 statement, U.S. ambassador to Mexico, Antonio Garza, said that Mexico has extradited or deported 53 fugitives to the United States in 2006 and more extraditions are expected by the end of the year.

Garza said “this successful cooperation between our two governments again demonstrates how together we will work relentlessly to hold fugitives accountable for their crimes."

In the latest demonstration of this bilateral cooperation, Mexican authorities are bringing to justice two fugitives on the U.S. “Ten Most Wanted” list of criminals, said Garza. He added that Mexican authorities were extraditing Ruben Hernandez Martinez, described as an exceptionally dangerous criminal who will now be held accountable for the “heinous crimes” he allegedly committed involving a series of home invasions, sexual assaults, and burglaries between 1997 and 1998 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Another fugitive, Pedro Castorena, arrested June 17 in Guadalajara, was indicted by a U.S. federal grand jury in Denver, Colorado, in July 2005 on charges of conspiracy, fraud, misuse of visas, and money laundering. At the time of his arrest he was carrying two fraudulent Mexican identity documents.

Garza said the United States will request the extradition of Castorena, charged with assisting known criminals in obtaining false identification documents. The ambassador said Castorena also defrauded thousands of unsuspecting migrants, “whose otherwise good faith efforts to travel or emigrate to the United States have been rendered difficult or impossible to achieve, due to the use of phony visas, passports, and similar documents.”

Julie Myers, director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, said June 19 that Castorena’s arrest was a “landmark achievement that deals a serious blow to one of the largest fraudulent document organizations in the United States.” Myers said the arrest by Mexican authorities and ICE agents stationed abroad “proves that international borders are not barriers for fugitives to hide behind.” ICE is the investigative agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. (See related article.)

The U.S. State Department said in a report released March 1 that Mexico extradited a record 41 fugitives to the United States in 2005 -- up from 34 in 2004.

The department’s International Narcotics Control Strategy Report - 2006 said the fugitives included Mexican citizens and defendants accused of narcotics trafficking, money laundering, and other serious crimes.

Ambassador Garza’s statement is available on the Web site of the U.S. embassy in Mexico.

For information on U.S. policy toward Mexico, see Washington File – Mexico.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)