Mexico 'fast-track' expulsion of drug lords to US broke legal procedures, experts say

By Lizbeth Diaz

The Mexican government broke with its own legal procedures to hand over 29 suspected cartel members to the U.S., experts said, as pressure mounts over threats by President Donald Trump to slap tariffs on Mexican imports.

A dozen lawyers who are experts in extradition law and security analysts in Mexico told Reuters the handover of these high-profile jailed convicts, some sought by Washington for years, is unprecedented and a clear "jump" over any existing legal barrier.

The handover could expose some of the suspects to the possibility of execution in the U.S. The death penalty is normally barred in Mexican extraditions.

"It was a political extradition, without a doubt unique in the history of Mexico," said Raul Benitez, an expert in security and military issues at Mexico's National Autonomous University (UNAM).

The experts interviewed by Reuters said the mass handoff cannot be considered an "extradition" because it went outside the bounds of treaties and laws between the two countries.

Mexican law prevents extradition if the person has sought to be acquitted, pardoned, amnestied or has already served a sentence for the crime in question. One lawyer said he would appeal the handover of his clients.

The "fast track" handover was a strategic move by Mexico, Benitez said, seeking to avoid 25% tariffs on Mexican goods that Trump has warned will come March 4 over slow progress on stemming fentanyl and migrant flows.

On Thursday, Mexican authorities sent 29 suspected drug traffickers to the U.S. These included infamous drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, who was convicted of murdering a DEA agent in 1985.

Also expelled were two former leaders of the Los Zetas cartel: Miguel Angel Trevino Morales, known as Z-40, and his brother Oscar Omar Trevino Morales, known as Z-42.

Lawyers who spoke to Reuters said the expulsions appeared to violate established legal procedures because the expedited extradition of a person can only occur when there is a formal request, which in many of these cases did not occur.

Mexican law also mandates an agreement from the destination country that an extradited suspect will not face the death penalty. In this case, no such guarantees were provided and U.S. officials made it clear they could seek the death penalty for Caro Quintero and other convicted cartel members.

Juan Manuel Delgado, a Mexican lawyer representing the Treviño brothers, said he is considering filing an appeal against the handover of his clients to the U.S.

"The transfer... was done outside of any legal procedure," Delgado said to Reuters.

On Thursday, Mexico Attorney General Alejandro Gertz said in a press conference that the transfer was done under the national security law "where the parameters for political stability are established in both Mexico and the United States."

The list of those sent to the U.S. includes members of groups linked to trafficking of the deadly opioid fentanyl, including the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel and a wing of the Sinaloa Cartel led by the sons of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera, who is serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison.

ON U.S. SOIL

Even if the handover deal appeared to skirt Mexico's normal legal procedures, some praised it as a chance at improved cooperation with the U.S. after ties with the DEA and other U.S. agencies had frayed for a time under former Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

The handoff was "part of a new paradigm in the bilateral relationship between Mexico and the United States," said Miguel Ontiveros, president of the Mexican Academy of Criminal Science and an expert in extradition processes in Mexico. He expressed hope that the USMCA trade agreement "will evolve into a common space for the protection of victims, citizen security and the administration of justice."

Sending the suspects to the U.S. will prevent them from manipulating the Mexican legal system to evade justice, the experts said, adding they will also be unable to extort, threaten or carry out violence against Mexican judges who may have ruled on an authorized extradition process.

Some experts questioned whether the handover will be enough for Trump, who has labeled Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations and so far has not signaled he will reconsider the looming tariffs.

Ontiveros said Mexico's crackdown on narcotrafficking will probably help it negotiate with the U.S. on other issues.

"This operation shows that not only will extraditions to the United States increase, but also joint operations against organized crime," said Ontiveros.