MEXICO CITY — In a ruling issued Tuesday, Federal Judge José Díaz de León Cruz granted two amparos (Mexican constitutional legal processes that protect the citizen and their basic rights) requested by the defense team of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán Loera relating to his extradition to the United States. The suspensions will delay Guzmán Loera’s extradition.
Two other requests for amparos against the extradition agreement with the United States were denied.
Guzmán Loera, who is accused of being the former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, is wanted in the U.S. states of California and Texas.
For the request for extradition by the State of California, where Guzmán Loera is wanted for drug trafficking, his lawyers argue that the statute of limitations has passed on that crime.
For the request for extradition by the State of Texas, where he is accused of conspiracy, crimes against health, organized crime and money laundering, the accused drug traffickers lawyers argue that Guzmán Loera could face the death penalty if he is extradited to Texas. In order for the extradition to take place, there must be some sort of guarantee that “El Chapo” will not be executed.
“We would need to be sure that he won’t be executed,” said one of Guzmán Loera’s defense lawyers José Refugio Rodríguez. “That would look like a written agreement between the judge and prosecutor to make sure that both the prosecutor won’t seek the death penalty and the judge won’t apply it.”
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