Extradition Laws Mexico

The overwhelming majority of refugees extradited by Mexico are wanted in the United States for the most serious crimes, including murder, rape, sexual violations against children, kidnapping and drug trafficking. Most of the refugees returned to the United States by extradition are Mexican citizens. The longer it takes to obtain extradition, the less likely it is to happen, especially given the ever-increasing number of cases facing law enforcement agencies. When money is at stake, prosecutors often prioritize cases they want to expedite and those they may need to drop. This decision is usually made according to the seriousness of the offence committed. Diplomatic or political priorities may also interfere with the extradition process. The Mexican government, for example, may be reluctant to dismiss one of its own citizens. Armed with a paw, the Mexican federal police will arrest the fugitive in Mexico. Once this happens, time begins to run out with the requirement that the official extradition package be handed over to Mexican authorities within 60 days of the fugitive`s arrest, or the refugee is released. 1 The contract is available online at sitemaker.umich.edu/drwcasebook/files/u.s.__mexico_extradition_treaty.pdf. To apply for a PAW, the Ministry of Justice requires a certified copy of a capia, a certified copy of the indictment, and the draft extradition file. The latter condition, the draft extradition package, was previously not necessary to request a provisional arrest warrant.

But these days, the DOJ wants to have a draft of the delivery package to speed up the process. Things have changed. Today, DOJ requires “new” witness statements (affidavits). Statements from police witnesses, who may already be present in a case, may not be sufficient for extradition from Mexico. As a result, investigators must now contact witnesses during the preparation of the extradition file and have them sign a new affidavit. In addition, at least one of the statements must come from a witness who can identify the accused as the perpetrator of the crime by means of an attached photograph. Once the Department of Justice has a copy of the draft, they will carefully review all the affidavits. You can make suggestions on the wording of one of the affidavits or have questions about the case that need to be addressed in the package package. Affidavits should not be signed until everything has been approved by DOJ. An affidavit of the attorney and the affidavit of the clerk are signed before a district judge. Witness statements are usually signed before a notary. According to the Justice Department`s schedule, the agency prefers to execute all duly executed extradition documents within 42 days of the date of arrest of the fugitive.

Currently, the GM requires two original packages and six copies. The entire extradition package must be translated into Spanish for prosecutors, judges, authorities and defence lawyers. Rest assured that every Mexican official will carefully examine each document in the package; Therefore, the importance of translation quality cannot be overemphasized – the delivery package must be entrusted to a professional translator. (The DOJ can have the package translated, but it probably costs twice as much as using your own translator.) The U.S. government is working closely with our Mexican colleagues to effectively use our bilateral extradition treaty and other legal mechanisms to ensure that our shared border does not serve as a barrier behind which refugees can flee justice, seek refuge, and continue to commit crimes. It is important to contact the DOJ to discuss the latest instructions and requirements for deliveries. For example, in drug cases, the DOJ has begun to require at least one civilian witness, which can be difficult if no civilians have been involved in a drug crisis. Also, in the last two extradition cases after the conviction we made (extradition to serve a sentence), instead of asking for PAW after approving the draft extradition package, the DOJ asked us to submit the official package, and then the DOJ requested PAW. In fact, the United States and Mexico have a bilateral extradition treaty that was first signed in 1978. Since the early 2000s, the number of refugees Mexico has returned to U.S. authorities has steadily increased.

Between 2003 and 2011, more than 2,000 criminals were captured and returned to the United States for prosecution, according to U.S. Marshals. In May 1978, the United States signed an extradition treaty with Mexico, which was signed on May 25, 1978. January 1980.1 The annex to the treaty lists the extraditable offences; In addition, Article 2 of the Treaty provides that intentional offences covered by one of the clauses of the offences listed in the Annex may also be extradited. An intentional offence punishable by imprisonment of at least one year may also be extradited. If the decision to grant extradition is challenged by amparo, extradition is suspended until amparo is clarified. If the amparo court considers that the issues raised by Amparo are well-founded, the SRE may resolve them or possibly appeal the decision to a higher court. A refugee will not be extradited if unexplained amparos are pending before a court. In fact, one of the last things INTERPOL does before the refugee is handed over to US authorities is to ensure that there are no amparos pending. In accordance with article 4 of the Mexican Federal Penal Code, Mexico will arrest and prosecute a refugee for crimes committed outside its borders if the perpetrator or victim is a Mexican citizen and the subject is found in Mexico. This can be a very useful alternative to extradition when the witnesses are all in Mexico, where there may be a Mexican law that could improve the likelihood of a conviction, or, as I have seen, when the witnesses no longer want to go through the ordeal of a trial.

The decision to extradite a refugee to the United States is made by the Secreteria de Relaciones Exteriores (SRE). The SRE will seek the opinion of a federal judge on whether to grant extradition. If the judge finds a reason why extradition should be refused, the SRE can address these concerns and grant extradition. If, on the other hand, the SRE grants extradition, the defendant may challenge this decision by filing a petition for amparo. One possible explanation is the widespread misconception that the United States and Mexico do not have extradition treaties. According to this assumption, any American criminal who managed to cross the border would not have to worry about setting foot in jail again. Amparo works in the same way as habeas corpus in our laws. In Mexico, an amparo can be used to challenge virtually any aspect of the lawsuit against a person. For example, an amparo may challenge the accuracy of an arrest warrant, search warrant or even charges against a person.