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“On December 4, 2007, Mexico extradited Marco
Antonio Mendoza to the United States to face charges in Los
Angeles for murder and kidnapping. Mendoza is the 80th fugitive
extradited by Mexico to face justice in the U.S. this year,
far surpassing last year’s record of 63 and almost doubling
the 2005 total.
“The cooperation and coordination between the Calderon administration
and U.S. law enforcement is clearly demonstrating to criminals
that Mexico will not allow itself to be used as a refuge or
safe-haven. Mexican law enforcement has aggressively confronted
the scourge of transnational crime, and is removing potentially
dangerous criminal fugitives from Mexico’s streets.
Marco Antonio Mendoza is a Mexican citizen wanted to stand
trial in Los Angeles County, California, on state charges
of murder and kidnapping. On June 18, 2006, Mendoza allegedly
stabbed a man in the neck, killing him, and then forced two
persons at knifepoint to drive him from Los Angeles to the
Mexican border. Mendoza was arrested in Mexico on Dec 11,
2006, and, since then, has been in Mexican custody pending
extradition to the U.S.
“Since last year’s record was surpassed in August, the fugitives
extradited by Mexico to the U.S. have included:
- Octavio Torres Ortega, to face charges of alien smuggling
resulting in the deaths of 19 illegal immigrants, including
a 5 year-old boy, who suffocated in the back of a tractor
trailer in Victoria, Texas, in 2003;
- Manuel Campos Medina, a significant member of the Sinaloa-based,
Zambada-Garcia drug trafficking organization wanted on federal
cocaine trafficking charges in New York;
- Juan Luis Cadena Sosa, to stand trial for enslaving young
Mexican women as prostitutes in south Florida;
- David Fuster, a Maryland dentist wanted for the rape of
a teenage patient while she was under anesthesia for treatment
in his office; and
- Juan Armando Carrillo, accused of the serial rape of five
California women after breaking into their homes while they
slept.
“Of the 80 fugitives extradited to the U.S. this year, 65
are Mexican citizens; the rest are US citizens or third country
nationals. They are accused of the following crimes: 30 for
drug trafficking and related money laundering offenses; 26
for murder; 19 for violent sexual offenses, including rape,
sexual assault of children and sex trafficking; two for alien
smuggling; two for kidnapping for ransom; and one for theft
of U.S. Treasury checks.
“President Bush has requested Congressional funding of the
Merida Initiative that would enable communities on both sides
of the border to increase the fight against criminality and
give the streets back to the people. I am hopeful that Congress
will move quickly on this funding, to provide support to the
brave men and women on the front lines of the fight against
narco-traffickers and others who threaten the security of
our two nations.” |
