Mexican authorities this month bypassed standard extradition procedures to send 26 alleged cartel members to the United States, opting instead to expel them under a national security law. The move came after many of the suspects had successfully used a legal tool called the “amparo” to delay their cases for years.
The amparo, a mechanism rooted in 19th-century Mexican law and adopted across Latin America, is meant to shield individuals from state overreach. It allows anyone to challenge government actions or court rulings they believe violate constitutional rights. But experts say high-profile criminals have twisted it into a weapon for obstruction.
Security Minister Omar García Harfuch acknowledged the abuse during a televised briefing, noting that many suspects obtained amparos to remain in low-security prisons, where they could continue directing criminal operations. Others filed appeals seeking early release. “This action was taken to prevent them from continuing to order kidnappings, extortion, and homicides from prison,” he said.
Constitutional law expert Luis Pérez de Acha called the minister’s remarks an admission of a broken justice system. “There’s a recognition of structural failures,” he said, pointing to possible incompetence or corruption among prosecutors and judges.
The scale of exploitation is staggering. Enrique Arballo Talamantes, convicted of kidnapping and murder, filed 51 amparos against officials ranging from the president to prison directors. Abigael González Valencia, an alleged cartel leader, launched 62 amparos alongside a dozen legal complaints while fighting extradition since 2015.
The mechanism’s cost and complexity create a two-tier system. While amparos are technically free, they require expensive specialized lawyers. “Only those with money to pay for specialized lawyers benefit,” Pérez de Acha said. Civil society groups have used them successfully for wrongful convictions, but for most ordinary citizens, the protection remains theoretical.
Jorge Peniche, a human rights lawyer, said the disparity widens Mexico’s impunity gap. “The amparo is ‘free’ in quotation marks,” he noted. “Not everyone can make use of it.”
The recent expulsions highlight growing frustration with a system that allows alleged criminals to buy time through legal maneuvers, even as authorities scramble to contain cartel violence that continues from behind prison walls.