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Thursday, February 1, 2001
Volume:
17
Issue:
2
58
Abstract:
On December 12, 2000, a Nicaraguan judge ordered the arrest and pre-trial detention of Oscar Espinosa, the former mayor of Mexico City, who has applied for political asylum in Mexico while he battles extradition on charges of embezzling $45 million in public funds.
As Mr. Espinosa left a Managua courtroom after a seemingly routine appearance to complete paperwork in the extradition proceedings, a high-level police officer arrested him with force. His shocked counsel watched speechlessly as Espinosa was brought to a detention center on a hilltop reserved for prisoners normally isolated from the general jail population. Immediately before his arrest, Espinosa expressed confidence in Nicaragua’s justice system in front of reporters…[more]