Mexican court says drug lord can’t avoid US extradition

MEXICO CITY, Mexico – A Mexican court rejected an appeal Wednesday, March 5, by drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman to avoid extradition to the United States in the absence of any formal request.

Following his February 22 capture, Guzman filed a motion for an immediate injunction to prevent extradition to the US, where at least 7 federal district courts have indicted him on charges of money laundering and ferrying massive shipments of cocaine into the country.

But no formal US request has yet been filed with the Mexican government.

Mexican Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam announced last week that the government intends to try to sentence Guzman in Mexico before weighing possible extradition to the United States, though he has already discussed the issue with his counterpart Eric Holder.

Mexican Marines, backed by intelligence provided by the US Drug Enforcement Administration, captured Guzman in the Pacific resort city of Mazatlan last month. He was staying with his beauty-queen wife and two-year-old twin daughters in a condominium, and was arrested without a single shot being fired.

He is now held at the Altiplano high-security prison, and faces charges in at least 4 cases implicating him in organized crime and drug trafficking.

The Mexican government considers the criminal organization Guzman headed, the Sinaloa cartel, to be responsible for most of the drugs entering the United States.

The cartel operates in about 50 countries in the Americas, Europe and Asia. – Rappler.com