A Mexican judge has suspended the extradition of Benjamin Arellano Félix to the United States, his lawyer and the Mexican Attorney General's Office said yesterday.
The judge ruled last week that Arellano Félix, a reputed leader in theTijuana-based Arellano Félix drug cartel, cannot be sent to the United States for trial until a court rules on the legality of the government's extradition order, said his defense attorney, Americo Delgado. Both Delgado and the Attorney General's Office say a final decision could take months, if not years.
The Arellano Félix cartel emerged as a drug trafficking powerhouse in the 1980s in Tijuana. The gang began to weaken after Arellano Félix's arrest in 2002 and the killing of his brother Ramon in a 2002 shootout with police.
Arellano Félix is wanted in California on five charges, including drug trafficking, money laundering, racketeering and organized crime. He is already serving a 22-year sentence in Mexico on drug trafficking and organized crime charges, along with five years for weapons possession.
Mexico agreed to extradite him last month, despite a judge's nonbinding opinion that it would mean trying him for the same crimes twice. Prosecutors argued that Arellano Félix was wanted in the United States for crimes that occurred after those for which he was convicted in Mexico. –A.P.
