Argentina archives Farías case after Mexico withdraws request

Reporting and context

Colima Noticias reports that Mexico withdrew its extradition request for former Navy rear admiral Fernando Farías Laguna, who has been accused of alleged involvement in a network described as fiscal huachicol, or fuel smuggling and tax fraud. An Argentine federal judge then declared that there were insufficient grounds to prosecute or dismiss him for the matter investigated in Argentina and ordered the proceedings archived. The ruling was digitally signed on August 20, according to the report.

The decision came after Farías Laguna's defense had said two days earlier that an extradition was not imminent and that proceedings in Argentina remained open. The report says an extradition hearing had been scheduled for August 27, but the Mexican government's withdrawal changed the legal situation. The judge ordered notice to Farías Laguna's defense, the Argentine public prosecutor and the facility where he was being held, and directed that his detention under the extradition procedure end.

The case began after Argentine authorities arrested Farías Laguna in Buenos Aires in April, reportedly finding him with a false identity and a Guatemalan passport. The report says he had traveled from Colombia using the name Luis Lemus Ramos and that Argentine authorities identified the document as allegedly falsified, including a possible alteration to its photograph. Mexican authorities had sought him through an Interpol red notice, while the Argentine ruling said the alleged document-related conduct occurred outside Argentina and therefore could not be prosecuted there.