Joaquín Guzmán Loera, a.k.a. El Chapo, has argued that the Mexican government "improperly extradited" him to Brooklyn. El Chapo's legal team now wants their client's case dismissed, the New York Daily Newsreported Friday.
El Chapo's attorneys want Brooklyn Federal Court Justice Brian Cogan to toss the indictment, alleging it violates the extradition treaty between Mexico and the U.S. El Chapo, his lawyers claim, was originally only expected to be transferred to California or Texas. He is now set to stand trial in Brooklyn next April.
Mexico suddenly allowed for El Chapo to be sent to New York on Jan. 19 by issuing a Rule of Specialty waiver, the New York Times added in their report. Such a waiver allows defendants to only be tried on the charges for which they are being extradited. El Chapo's lawyers have questioned how government officials could have followed proper procedure within mere hours of their client's transport from Mexico. Additionally, the legal team has questioned if prosecutors should be allowed to move forward with efforts to seize $14 billion in alleged drug-related profits from their client.
Following his second successful escape from prison, El Chapo was recaptured in Sinaloa in January 2016. "Guzman's latest attempt to escape has failed, and he will now have to answer for his alleged crimes, which have resulted in significant violence, suffering, and corruption on multiple continents," then-Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch said in a statement at the time. "I commend the Government of Mexico for this arrest, and I salute the Mexican law enforcement and military personnel who have worked tirelessly in recent months to bring Guzmán to justice."
