In Mexico, a federal judge has issued a stay of any extraction proceedings for Rafael Caro Quintero until such time as he has gone through the formal extradition process. This would appear to put a halt to any efforts to quickly turn him over to US authorities.
The below article from Excelsior is translated by Fousesquawk.
*Amparo: Translator's note: As previously noted, the Spanish term "amparo" has various definitions. In a legal sense, it refers to legal protections afforded citizens against an abusive judiciary, which could include the reversal of a conviction or sentence. In the below article, I have chosen to use various words like, "request for stay", "relief", or "reprieve".
Judge stops Caro Quintero from being extradited to US....for the moment
A federal judge granted a stay of the drug trafficker being delivered to the US without being adjudicated in Mexico; the amparo (reprieve) was requested by the sister of the cartel boss, Angelica Caro Quintero.
-by DAVID at 05:00
Caption:Rafael Caro Quintero arrested by Marines last weekend. Photo-Especial
The 7th District judge for Amparos in Penal Matters, based in the state of Jalisco, Francisco Resendiz Neri, granted a stay to the drug trafficker Rafael Caro Quintero that he would not be delivered to the US Government by means of expulsion or deportation without going through the process of extradition for which he was arrested.
The (request for stay) was initially filed by Beatriz Angelica Caro Quintero, sister of the accused, who, in soliciting the protection of Federal Justice, asked that (Rafael Caro Quintero) be notified at the Federal Center for Social Readaptation #1, Altiplano, in Almoloya de Juarez, State of Mexico, where he was incarcerated last Friday, July 15.
In his ruling in granting the stay, Judge Resendiz Neri ruled that the (extradition) not be executed, and the subject remain where he is at the disposition of this judicial amparo body, only as to what refers to his personal liberty until the current reprieve proceeding is resolved.
According to sources in the Council of the Federal Judiciary (CJF), on Monday, an official attached to the 9th District Court of Amparos and Federal Trials in the State of Mexico visited the federal prison.
The judicial officer informed Caro Quintero about the stay and proceeded to ratify the order which prevents his delivery to the US without complying with what is established in the Extradition Treaty between both countries.
Against incomunicado
In Mexico City, Judge Guillermo Francisco Urbina Tanus of the 13th District Court for Amparo in Criminal Matters accepted another request for (relief) against being held incommunicado or forced disappearance.
The judicial authority granted the stay so that all authorities involved in the detention and custody of Caro Quintero be notified that he be permitted to receive relatives and defense attorneys.
Caro Quintero was arrested on July 15 during an operation carried out by units of the Secretary of the Marines of Mexico (Semar) and the National Prosecutor's Office (FGR) in Choix, Sinaloa.
The Narco of Narcos remained a fugitive since August 2013 when a federal judge (overturned his conviction) after having served 28 of a 40-year sentence for organized crime and homicide.
Caro Quintero is charged by the government of the US, specifically in the death of anti-drug agency agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena Salazar and his pilot, Alfredo Zavala Avelar.
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*Update: July 19: On Tuesday, Judge Resendiz removed himself from the matter on the grounds that the issues at hand should be handled by a judge within the State of Mexico where Altiplano prison is located, not a court in Jalisco, where Judge Resendiz is based. According to the below Excelsior report, the stay of extradition remains in effect.
I am not familiar with Mexican law, but it seems odd that since Caro-Quintero was arrested in the state of Sinaloa and is now incarcerated in the state of Mexico, a judge in the state of Jalisco would get involved, but again, I don't know anything about the judicial process in Mexico.
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