A United States federal judge has ruled that former Chihuahua governor César Duarte can be extradited to Mexico to face charges of conspiracy and embezzlement of government funds.
Lauren Louis, a United States District Court judge in the Southern District of Florida, wrote in a ruling published Monday that Mexico’s extradition request satisfies the requirements of the extradition treaty between the U.S. and its southern neighbor.
“There is probable cause to believe that Duarte committed the crimes charged in the extradition complaint. I therefore certify that Duarte is extraditable as to those crimes and order Duarte detained pending both a review of Mexico’s extradition request by the Secretary of State and Duarte’s potential surrender to Mexico,” she wrote.
The former Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) governor, who held office in the northern border state between 2010 and 2016, fled Mexico shortly after his term ended and was arrested in July 2020 in Miami, Florida, while working at a junkyard. He has 60 days to appeal the judge’s ruling.