The Mexican government has closed the possibility of detaining and extraditing Rubén Rocha Moya. Four months after the United States accused Sinaloa's licensed governor and nine other officials and former officials of collaborating with the Sinaloa Cartel, President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Wednesday that Washington still fails to deliver the additional evidence Mexico considers necessary to bring the application before a judge.
“Until now not,” Sheinbaum replied when questioned about the delivery of new items. “Then there are no conditions,” she added during her morning conference, according to La Jornada.
The statement updates a case that began on April 29, when the Federal Prosecutor’s Office of the Southern District of New York made public an indictment against Rocha Moya and nine other people for drug and weapons-related crimes. Since then, Mexico has argued that the U.S. request for interim detention for extradition purposes does not contain sufficient evidence to justify an arrest warrant under Mexican law.
The difference between the two governments is now concentrated on one legal point: the United States considers that, because it is a request for “urgent detention for extradition purposes,” it does not need to submit additional information at this stage; Mexico argues that any detention should be backed up by elements that allow the case to be brought before a judge.
Claudia Sheinbaum rejected the possibility of delivering Rubén Rocha Moya to the United States to be investigated, by pointing out that any process must be carried out in accordance with Mexican laws. pic.twitter.com/iNPgAqlzWd
“Until now, the U.S. response has been that they would not have to show any additional evidence.It’s what they’ve answered so far, they could still show a test, but so far not,” Sheinbaum explained.
She also rejected the possibility of arresting and delivering Rocha Moya as a “act of trust” for the evidence to be subsequently presented during a trial in the United States.
“No, they also ask us for evidence, it’s a mutual relationship.First is our Constitution and our laws,” he replied.
Sheinbaum argued that an arrest warrant in Mexico requires documentation compatible with the national criminal prosecution system and stressed that there are significant differences with the U.S. model.
“In the United States, testimonies are taken as proofs per se, in Mexico, not, in Mexico, other kinds of evidence are required to declare someone guilty or suspected guilty of a crime, to open an investigative folder,” he said. “These are different criminal systems, what works in the United States is not necessarily the same in Mexico.”
The U.S. Department of Justice holds a very different position on the solidity of the case. The charges filed in New York indict Rocha Moya and nine other officials and former officials of having used their charges to favour the Los Chapitos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel.
According to the New York South District Attorney, Rocha Moya allegedly participated in meetings with members of Los Chapitos and promised to protect their drug trafficking operations. The prosecution also argues that this faction would have contributed to her arrival in the government in 2021 by intimidating and kidnapping political opponents. These claims are part of the U.S. prosecution and have not been proved in trial.
