Cancelled: “El H’s” Extradition to the US

On October 25, 2017 the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) canceled the authorization it issued to extradite Héctor Manuel Beltrán Leyva, "El H", to the United States to face the accusation against him by the Federal District Court of the District of Columbia for drug trafficking.

Beltran Leyva's lawyer argued that the digital photographs submitted for his extradition are not original and his anthropometric record is obsolete.

The federal judge who in charge of the extradition procedure of Héctor Manuel Beltrán Leyva, "El H", initiated several proceedings to prove the initial identity report of the capo, to be positive that the incarcerated man is the same subject whose presence is required by the United States .

In compliance with a writ of amparo issued by the Fifth Collegiate Court in Criminal Matters in Mexico City, the Mexican Foreign Ministry annulled the agreement of September 26, 2016 in which it granted the extradition of "El H".

As reported by the Eighth District Judge of Federal Criminal Proceedings in Mexico City , on October 31, the legal opinion that he issued on August 29, 2016 to authorize the extradition of Beltrán Leyva to the United States was rendered ineffective.

In compliance with a writ of amparo, the judge ordered the reinstatement of the procedure and  will perform various steps to carry out the meeting of experts ordered in the trial of guarantees 1121/2016 before the Tenth District Judge of Amparo in criminal matters in the capital .

The extradition file number 7/2005-V will be returned to the Eighth District Judge of Federal Criminal Proceedings in the CDMX so that, as ordered by the Collegiate, reinstate the procedure and conduct a meeting of experts, and if appropriate appoint an expert third in discord, to issue his legal opinion on extradition.

To do this, the judge will have full jurisdiction to decide whether or not to grant the extradition of Beltrán Leyva., ie, according to what results from the meeting of experts.

The purpose of the expert meeting is to verify that Héctor Manuel Beltrán Leyva is the same detained person that the United States claims it wants.

In the amparo, differences were detected between the conclusions of the experts appointed by the parties regarding the identity of Hector manuel Beltran Leyva,"El H", but despite this, in August 2016 the criminal judge considered that it was not necessary to appoint a third expert of discord and a meeting of experts was ordered by the Federal Code of Criminal Procedures that governs the extradition of Beltrán Leyva.