Mexico Supreme Court Stays U.S. Extradition Request Due to Life Imprisonment Penalty

On January 18, 2002, the media reported that Mexico’s Supreme Court has stayed extradition of Augustin Vazquez Mendoza, who is wanted in the 1994 murder of a U.S. drug agent because the U.S. Government refused to provide assurances he would not be sentenced to life imprisonment if surrendered, prosecuted and convicted. According to a media report, a Mexican Supreme Court official on condition of anonymity said the new ruling “is a conditional stay (of extradition)that would be resolved if the Foreign Ministry notifies the court that those conditions on life imprisonment or capital punishment has been satisfied. In July 2002, after six years as a fugitive and an intensive search, Mexican authorities arrested Mr. Vazquez on a U.S. extradition request. Vazquez was on the FBI’s 10 most wanted list, with a reward of 2.2 million offered.