The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Will File a Five-Year Extradition Request for Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada

The Foreign Ministry argued that if this information were to be released, it would violate due process and the presumption of innocence of the drug trafficker.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) has decided to classify Mexico’s extradition request for Ismael El Mayo Zambada, filed with the United States government, as confidential for five years.

The Ministry argued that if this information were released, it would violate due process and the presumption of innocence of the drug trafficker. Furthermore, it could jeopardize the prosecution of the crimes or jeopardize ongoing criminal proceedings and investigations into the individuals involved.

“If the requested information were released, the right to due process of the person sought for extradition, which in this specific case is Ismael Mario Zambada García, could be affected, since the information contained in an extradition request made by the Requesting State is made known to the fugitive from justice until he or she has been detained for international extradition purposes and the extradition process has formally begun in the Requested State,” the ministry explained. In early February, the head of the Attorney General’s Office (FGR), Alejandro Gertz Manero, reported that Mexico had requested El Mayo’s extradition since his arrest. During his morning press conference on February 2, he emphasized that Zambada García has three outstanding arrest warrants in Mexico.

He asserted that Mexico has urged the White House to address this process four times without receiving a response.

In this context, he explained that Article 15 of the National Code of Criminal Procedure, which establishes the right to privacy, would also be violated; as well as Article 128, which reserves the right to investigative acts, investigative records, and documents, regardless of their content or nature.

“It would significantly undermine the prosecution of crimes, since the dissemination of information could impede or obstruct the powers exercised by the Public Prosecutor’s Office during the investigation and before the courts of the Federal Judicial Branch, the information contained in extradition requests is provided by the Attorney General’s Office solely and exclusively to support its request, and not for public disclosure,” he added.

Zambada García has three outstanding arrest warrants in Mexico for three criminal cases filed in the Fifth District Court of Federal Criminal Proceedings in Mexico City; Fifth District Court for Federal Criminal Proceedings in the State of Mexico and the First District Court for Federal Criminal Proceedings in the State of Nayarit.

“Mr. Ismael Mario Zambada García is considered by Mexican authorities to be a fugitive from Mexican justice, and therefore the Government of Mexico has requested his extradition from the Government of the United States of America,” the Foreign Ministry stated.

Source: Milenio