Mexico requested the extradition of Ismael El Mayo Zambada to the United States since he was arrested, said the head of the Attorney General’s Office (FGR), Alejandro Gertz Manero.
At the morning press conference at the National Palace, he stressed that Zambada García has three arrest warrants in force in our country, so it is the obligation of the Mexican government to request this procedure.
“We initiated an extradition procedure before the North American authorities because this person, who had left the country against his will, who has three arrest warrants in force, it is the obligation of the government of the Republic to initiate the extradition procedure and it is the obligation of the requesting government to give us a response as soon as possible,” said the prosecutor.
The US State Department received a request; Mexico has insisted 4 times
He mentioned that the process began due to a series of crimes that were committed in Mexico, such as the kidnapping and illegal transportation of a person against his will.
In December of last year, the US State Department acknowledged that it already had the extradition request, Gertz Manero added.
“We have insisted on four occasions to the previous administration of the US government and we have not had a response, that is to say, the procedure to which this person refers is a procedure that has already been fulfilled and has been fulfilled in full, within the legal frameworks that Mexico has the obligation to establish.”
“The previous US government was left with the obligatory response along with another series of requests that we have been making in this case that led us to this.”
Questioned about whether there was the presence of agents in Mexican territory during the kidnapping of El Mayo Zambada at an airfield near Culiacán, the prosecutor responded that there is no direct evidence of this.
“All the evidence that we have absolutely clarified is that, at an airfield near the city of Culiacán, the son of El Chapo (Joaquín Guzmán López), a pilot or two, this remains to be seen, and the other criminal (El Mayo), were the object of an operation (…) in which there is no other evidence of any kind.”
Alejandro Gertz Manero explained that, to prevent any Mexican from being punished with the death penalty, the government of our country applies the Vienna Convention, through which accompaniment and support is provided in the legal procedure.
Citizens who are being tried in another country have the right to be accompanied by their country
Gertz Manero indicated that, according to the Vienna Convention, citizens who have been accused and are being tried in another nation have the right to have the authorities of their country accompany them and assist them in both the investigation and the development of that procedure.
“That is the Vienna Convention that has been applied permanently, this is not an exceptional case, neither for better nor for worse, it is exactly the same, so what that request is doing is referring to facts that are technically and legally very clear.”
He commented that the accompaniment is permanent and recalled that the events occurred in July of last year.
“We are already going for a year and, according to the North American legal structure, we still do not have the first hearing on the merits.”
“This is frankly worrying, because it is at this hearing that we will learn precisely what the accusations and defenses are; this is where the presence and accompaniment of the consular authorities is an obligation, in accordance with this multilateral treaty.”
In the letter released by his legal representative, Ismael Zambada accused the North American authorities of intending to apply the death penalty to him.
Source: milenio
