MEXICO: Mexico's Supreme Court has agreed to allow the extradition of criminal suspects who face life sentences abroad, clearing the way for thousands of alleged murderers and drug traffickers to stand trial in the United States.
The court's 6-5 vote on Tuesday ends four years of wrangling between the US and Mexican governments over accused killers who have been protected by Mexico's ban on life sentences.
US legislators this autumn had threatened to cut off millions of dollars in aid to Mexico unless it turned over suspects in a number of high-profile cases, including the fatal shootings of a Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy and a Denver police detective.
Since 1978 Mexico has barred the extradition of its citizens accused of crimes that carry the death penalty.
The Mexican Supreme Court extended the extradition ban in October 2001 to Mexicans facing life in prison. Since then, US law enforcement officials have complained that scores of Mexicans who committed crimes in the US have escaped justice simply by crossing the border back home.
In some cases, prosecutors in the US have agreed to pursue reduced criminal charges, with lighter sentences, to persuade Mexican authorities to hand over suspects.
"We estimate there are 3,000 individuals who committed murders in the US, several hundred in Los Angeles County, and fled to Mexico," said Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley.
The court's reversal began in September, during a review of a proposed law in the state of Chihuahua creating consecutive sentences for kidnap and murder.
A court majority approved the new law on September 6th. Justice Juan Diaz Romero said the ruling did not explicitly allow life sentences, but it amounted to the same and thus opened the door to changes in extradition policy. - (LA Times-Washington Post)