October 21, 2016 / Modified oct 22, 2016 10:33 a.m.

Judge OKs El Chapo Guzman's Extradition; Appeal Expected

Prosecutors in US and Mexico favor him facing justice north of the border.

Chapo Guzman SPOT
AZPM
Fronteras Desk

A federal judge in Mexico has approved the extradition of Joaquín El Chapo Guzmán to face trial in the United States. It’s the latest legal hurdle cleared for the pending extradition that both countries are now openly seeking.

The judge’s decision comes just four days after another judge overseeing parts of Guzmán’s case, Vicente Bermudez Zacarias, was shot and killed outside his home in Mexico City.

Since he was caught the second time, Guzmán has fought an extradition to the United States. After the first time he was captured in 2014, Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto had stressed that first Guzmán would face charges in that country, delaying any extradition.

That appears to have changed. Last week, a Mexican prosecutor said he expected Guzmán would be extradited by early next year.

In Thursday’s ruling, the judge rejected Guzmán’s appeal for protection against extradition, prosecutors said in a statement.

He faces a slew of indictments in the U.S. including federal courts in California and in Texas. Guzman has been held prisoner in Ciudád Juárez. His legal team has said it will appeal the judge’s ruling.

By posting comments, you agree to our
AZPM encourages comments, but comments that contain profanity, unrelated information, threats, libel, defamatory statements, obscenities, pornography or that violate the law are not allowed. Comments that promote commercial products or services are not allowed. Comments in violation of this policy will be removed. Continued posting of comments that violate this policy will result in the commenter being banned from the site.

By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.
AZPM is a service of the University of Arizona and our broadcast stations are licensed to the Arizona Board of Regents who hold the trademarks for Arizona Public Media and AZPM. We respectfully acknowledge the University of Arizona is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples.
The University of Arizona