Judge bars transfer of alleged CJNG operative outside formal process
Original reporting: ZETA Tijuana
What happened
A federal court in Jalisco granted provisional protection against an extradition outside formal procedures and ordered an end to any incommunicado detention. Prosecutors were expected to address the legal status of 19 other detainees.
Reporting and context
A federal judge in Jalisco issued a provisional order barring authorities from handing Rafael Álvarez Ayala over to U.S. authorities outside the formal extradition process. According to ZETA Tijuana, the court also ordered an immediate end to any incommunicado detention of Álvarez Ayala, whom authorities suspect of operating for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel under the alias “R2.”
The orders came in an amparo proceeding, a Mexican constitutional challenge, before the Third District Court for Criminal Matters in Jalisco. Álvarez Ayala remained hospitalized under police guard after suffering serious injuries in a confrontation during his Nov. 8 arrest at a Guadalajara restaurant. The court kept him under its authority on matters of personal liberty and directed court officers to visit the hospital so he could personally confirm the petition filed on his behalf.
ZETA Tijuana reported that authorities expected a Nov. 10 decision on the legal status of the other 19 people detained in the Nov. 8 operation. The outlet said they had been held at the federal Attorney General’s Office in Jalisco and were due to be transferred to the Puente Grande prison to continue their proceedings.
Prosecutors were examining four vehicles linked to the operation that reportedly contained firearms and drugs. ZETA reported that the detainees included restaurant servers and musicians as well as people suspected of collaborating with Álvarez Ayala.