A federal judge has halted the possibility that drug trafficker Rafael Caro Quintero, who was re-apprehended Friday after nine years on the run, will be immediately extradited to the United States, which is claiming him for the murder of DEA agent Enrique Camarena and other crimes.
The Seventh District Court of Amparo in Criminal Matters, in Jalisco, granted a suspension in favor of Caro Quintero. This implies that he cannot be extradited to the United States without first going through the process provided for in the treaty on the matter between Mexico and that country.
The resolution was published on Monday by the Council of the Federal Judiciary (CJF).
On Friday, hours after Caro Quintero’s arrest in Sinaloa was announced, the U.S. Department of Justice announced it would seek his extradition “immediately.”
Caro Quintero is accused of the murder of Enrique Camarena, committed in 1985, as well as conspiring to introduce large quantities of drugs into the United States.
He was arrested in the 80s and remained imprisoned in Mexico until 2013, when he obtained a controversial ruling in his favor that allowed him to be released.
Since then he remained a fugitive, until he was arrested last week in an operation led by the Navy.
On the same Friday, Caro Quintero, founder of the defunct Guadalajara Cartel, was interned in the maximum security federal prison of the Altiplano, in the State of Mexico.
What we do at Animal Político requires professional journalists, teamwork, dialogue with readers and something very important: independence. You can help us keep going. Be part of the team.
Subscribe to Animal Político, receive benefits and support free journalism.#YoSoyAnimal
