The Disciplinary Commission of the Judicial Disciplinary Tribunal (TDJ) of the Federal Judiciary (PJF) suspended two judges of a Collegiate Circuit Court for granting an injunction to former Tamaulipas governor Eugenio Hernández, which prevented his extradition to the United States to face trial for criminal association and money laundering.
The judges in question are Dulce Yanet Vega Camacho and Lourdes Guadalupe Ávila Tovías, members of the First Collegiate Court for Criminal and Labor Matters in Tamaulipas.
According to the TDJ, the judges voted to grant the injunction to Hernández Flores, issuing rulings contrary to the evidence contained in the case file and overruling the former governor’s defense to prevent his extradition.
The extradition of Eugenio Hernández was granted in March 2018 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE), against which the former governor sought an injunction from the First District Judge in Tamaulipas, who denied his request.
Hernández Flores filed an appeal against the First District Judge’s ruling and requested that Judge Guillermo Cuatle Vargas, president of the panel, recuse himself from the case. Ultimately, Judge Cuatle Vargas himself recused himself, believing his impartiality could be compromised.
“The matter remained stagnant for seven years until early December 2025, when the now-suspended judges, without the case file being ready, resolved the recusal and disqualification motion and issued a ruling in the trial. This ruling modified the federal judge’s decision and granted the injunction denying the extradition, based on the argument that the Mexican Foreign Ministry had not considered a judge’s legal opinion, which was not binding,” the TDJ stated.
“According to our country’s regulations and the jurisprudence established by the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, the decision regarding the extradition of a person is the prerogative of the Executive Branch, as it is an act that pertains to relations with other countries based on a principle of international reciprocity. Therefore, such a determination constitutes an act exclusive to national sovereignty, reserved for the discretion of the Federal Executive.”
The presiding magistrate of the Disciplinary Commission of the Departmental Court of Justice (DJJ), Rufino H. León Tovar, explained that it was considered that the continued presence of the two magistrates on the Collegiate Court could seriously affect the administration of justice by casting doubt on their professionalism and impartiality in the amparo proceedings they are to resolve.
Therefore, while the Administrative Responsibilities Investigation Body of the Federal Judiciary (PJF) conducts the corresponding investigation against the magistrates, they will remain suspended from their positions.
Source: proceso
