Thread: Mexico drug lord's extradition halted

Jul 16, 9:48 PM EDT


Mexico drug lord's extradition halted




MEXICO CITY (AP) -- A Mexican judge has suspended the extradition of a Tijuana-based drug cartel leader to the United States, his lawyer and the attorney general's office said Wednesday.

The judge ruled last week that Benjamin Arellano Felix cannot be sent to the United States for trial until a court rules on the legality of the government's extradition order, said his defense attorney, Americo Delgado.

Both Delgado and the attorney general's office say a final decision could take months, if not years.

The Arellano Felix cartel emerged as a drug-trafficking powerhouse in the 1980s in Tijuana, across the U.S. border from San Diego. The gang began to weaken after Arellano Felix's arrest in 2002 and the killing of his brother Ramon in a shootout with police the same year.

Arellano Felix is wanted in California on five charges including drug trafficking, money laundering, racketeering and organized crime. He is already serving a 22-year sentence in Mexico on drug trafficking and organized crime charges, along with five years for weapons possession.

Mexico agreed to extradite him last month, despite a judge's nonbinding opinion that it would mean trying him for the same crimes twice. Prosecutors argued that Arellano Felix was wanted in the United States for crimes that occurred after those he was convicted for in Mexico.

The decision reflected Mexico's increasing willingness to send its citizens to the U.S. for trial.

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It will be easier for him to go free if mexico keeps him. Easy to buy off y corrupt government officials.

People like this should be extradited to China instead---that way we would have no expense and the Chinese could turn a tidy profit.