El Chapo Could Use Appeals Process to Negotiate Terms of His Extradition to U.S. Rafa Fernandez De Castro - Fusion
go to original May 10, 2016

There’s plenty of speculation about when and how former Sinaloa Cartel boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán could get extradited to the United States. But the kingpin himself might have some say in deciding whether it happens in a few weeks, a few months, or a year from now, according to U.S. and Mexican judicial and security experts.

“If Chapo’s lawyers successfully appeal this decision [to extradite] it could delay the process anywhere from six to nine months, even if the Mexican government wants to extradite him quickly,” Ignacio Pinto-León, a Mexican law expert at the University of Houston, told Fusion.

The drug lord’s defense counsel could file motions in the next few days to halt extradition proceedings. And if they lose that appeal, they could still ask for a revision of the case that would stall the process for another four to eight months, Pinto-León said.



So even though things suddenly appear to moving quickly in El Chapo’s expected extradition to the United States, the incarcerated drug boss could still set the pace.

On Saturday, El Chapo was transferred to a prison near the Texas border. Two days later a Mexican federal judge ruled that he can be extradited, citing a formal request made by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs now has 30 days to decide if it wants to hand over the country’s biggest drug war trophy to the gringos.

But Chapo’s defense team could use the legal appeals process and the threat of delay as a bargaining chip to negotiate the terms of extradition.

Read the rest at Fusion

Related: U.S., Mexico Shouldn't Play El Chapo's Extradition Game (CNN)

Related: ‘El Chapo’ Extradition Expected by Year’s End, U.S. Official Says (AFP-JIJI)

Related: Which Will Come First, El Chapo's Next Escape, or His Extradition to the US? (PRI)

Related: Mexico’s Most Notorious Drug Kingpin Is Bound for Brooklyn, Sources Say (New York Post)

Related: Actress Kate del Castillo Optimistic About Possible "El Chapo" Extradition (CBS News)



Top image: Victor Abarca

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