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Lawyers and family members of a group of alleged cartel figures MexicoThe Mexican government violated the law on Tuesday by sending nearly a hundred Mexican citizens to the United States without extradition warrants.
Less than a week after the Mexican president took office Claudia Sheinbaum Sending 37 detained drug cartel members to the United States in what observers say is an offer by Mexican authorities aimed at counteracting the growing threat from the U.S. president Donald Trump Take military action against the cartels.
Since February last year, Mexico has transferred a total of 92 cartel members to the United States in three separate installments at the request of the Trump administration. It’s part of Sheinbaum’s larger strategy to crack down on cartels and maintain a positive relationship with Trump.
The transfers have been the focus of legal debate, which has only gained more attention following last week’s handover. The Mexican government insists the transfers are legal and made in the name of national security. The Trump administration said the capos were wanted for crimes committed in the United States, and many had pending extradition requests from the United States.
At a news conference on Tuesday, lawyers for the cartel members claimed they were denied due process because they were sent to the United States without extradition warrants, which would require a lengthy legal process in Mexico.
“Mexico is currently under tremendous pressure from the United States,” said Yarey Sánchez Lagunas, a lawyer for the two men who were transferred to the United States last year. “This forces us to seriously question whether these decisions are being used to demonstrate political outcomes, even if it is at the expense of due process or the rule of law.”
The arguments echo those made by lawyers for notorious Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzman, who is currently serving a life sentence in a maximum-security prison. colorado.
Sánchez Laguas is the defense lawyer for atel Palacis García, the leader of the Jalisco New General Administration who was sent to the United States last February, and Pablo Edwin Huerta Nuño, the leader of the Arellano Félix cartel who was sent to northern Mexico in August.
One of the partners of a regional leader Zetas Cartel Vanesa Guzmán even filed criminal charges against a senior Mexican government official, Mexico’s Security Minister Omar García Harfuch, who has taken a leading role in the government’s crackdown on the cartels. Her partner, Juan Pedro Saldivar Farias, was flown to the United States last week in the latest in a series of transfers and charged with trafficking weapons and drugs.
Guzman accused Harfuch and other security officials of “treason” in a complaint filed with Mexico’s attorney general’s office on Tuesday, though lawyers for the transferred cartel members said they have no legal recourse within Mexico to challenge the transfers because their clients are not in the country.
“My partner’s transfer was tantamount to exile,” she said. “As of today, we have not heard from him. He has not even made a legally permitted phone call.”
Some, including Mike Vigil, the former head of international operations for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, dismissed the complaints on Tuesday and praised U.S. authorities for “fast-moving” the legal process, which often drags on for years as lawyers file multiple rounds of injunctions to slow enforcement.
Vigil noted that Mexico’s constitution allows the country’s president to take major steps like the one he took last week to protect national security. While Guzman and lawyers said the detainees posed no threat because they were already serving sentences in Mexico, Vergeire was quick to point out that criminals often use Mexican prisons as hubs for criminal activity.
“Sheenbaum did this to enhance cooperation with the U.S. government, but she also understood that if these individuals remained in prison … they would often have telephone access to their criminal organizations,” Vigil said. “These fast lanes are extremely valuable in ensuring that they face justice.”