Mexico City: Extraditing Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman to the United States could take a year or more, Mexican authorities said on Monday, while the slippery drug lord waits in the prison he previously escaped from.
The extradition bid marks a reversal from President Enrique Pena Nieto's refusal to send Guzman across the border prior to his July escape from a maximum-security prison.
After Guzman was recaptured on Friday, authorities launched the extradition process on Sunday, based on two US petitions on a clutch of charges, including drug trafficking and homicide.
But Merino warned that the process could last as a long as four to six years depending how hard Guzman's lawyers fight his extradition through injunctions.
Guzman is now back at the Altiplano maximum-security prison, some 90 kilometers (55 miles) west of Mexico City.
A dozen prison officials have been arrested over the escape.
A small tank was stationed outside the prison.
- Penn to be questioned? -While Guzman could face US justice, Mexican authorities want to question US actor Sean Penn over his clandestine meeting with the then-fugitive in October.
"That is correct, of course, it's to determine responsibilities," the official said on condition of anonymity, declining to provide more details, including a possible date for an interview with the stars.
White House chief of staff Denis McDonough told CNN that Penn's meeting with Guzman "poses a lot of interesting questions for him and others involved in this so-called interview. We'll see what happens."
US rock magazine Rolling Stone on Saturday published the interview that Guzman gave to the actors in an undisclosed jungle clearing in Mexico.
Despite Penn's cloak-and-dagger efforts to keep the gathering secret, another Mexican official told AFP that authorities found out about the meeting, which eventually helped them track down the Sinaloa drug cartel chief.
Guzman was recaptured on Friday in the seaside city of Los Mochis, in his native northwestern state of Sinaloa, in a military operation that left five suspects dead.
Attorney General Arely Gomez said on Friday that Guzman had met with unnamed actors and producers to discuss making a biopic about himself, and that it was part of a "new line of investigation."
Some legal experts, however, doubt that Penn could face charges in the United States or Mexico.
"I seriously doubt that charges will be brought against them even though Sean Penn took extraordinary steps to prevent authorities from using his phone to track the whereabouts of Chapo," said Mike Vigil, a former senior official at the US Drug Enforcement Administration.
- 'Grotesque' interview -The meeting sparked criticism in the United States, where Republican Senator Marco Rubio told ABC television that the interview was "grotesque."
Rubio, who is seeking his party's presidential nomination, repeated his call for Guzman to be extradited.
Journalists questioned the ethical merits of the interview.
Washington Post executive editor Marty Baron tweeted a link to a December story about the dangers and death faced by Mexican journalists, commenting: "Good moment to remember what happens to real journalists who cover Mexican drug traffickers."
Rolling Stone posted a picture dated October 2 showing the Oscar-winning actor shaking hands with the mustachioed drug cartel leader.
Penn wrote that they had a seven-hour sit-down, followed by phone and video interviews.
"I supply more heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana than anybody else in the world," Guzman said over sips of tequila. "I have a fleet of submarines, airplanes, trucks and boats."
The White House said Guzman's boast about his trafficking exploits "is maddening."
The extradition bid marks a reversal from President Enrique Pena Nieto's refusal to send Guzman across the border prior to his July escape from a maximum-security prison.
After Guzman was recaptured on Friday, authorities launched the extradition process on Sunday, based on two US petitions on a clutch of charges, including drug trafficking and homicide.
But Merino warned that the process could last as a long as four to six years depending how hard Guzman's lawyers fight his extradition through injunctions.
Advertisement
Guzman is now back at the Altiplano maximum-security prison, some 90 kilometers (55 miles) west of Mexico City.
Advertisement
A dozen prison officials have been arrested over the escape.
Advertisement
A small tank was stationed outside the prison.
Advertisement
- Penn to be questioned? -While Guzman could face US justice, Mexican authorities want to question US actor Sean Penn over his clandestine meeting with the then-fugitive in October.
Advertisement
"That is correct, of course, it's to determine responsibilities," the official said on condition of anonymity, declining to provide more details, including a possible date for an interview with the stars.
White House chief of staff Denis McDonough told CNN that Penn's meeting with Guzman "poses a lot of interesting questions for him and others involved in this so-called interview. We'll see what happens."
US rock magazine Rolling Stone on Saturday published the interview that Guzman gave to the actors in an undisclosed jungle clearing in Mexico.
Despite Penn's cloak-and-dagger efforts to keep the gathering secret, another Mexican official told AFP that authorities found out about the meeting, which eventually helped them track down the Sinaloa drug cartel chief.
Guzman was recaptured on Friday in the seaside city of Los Mochis, in his native northwestern state of Sinaloa, in a military operation that left five suspects dead.
Attorney General Arely Gomez said on Friday that Guzman had met with unnamed actors and producers to discuss making a biopic about himself, and that it was part of a "new line of investigation."
Some legal experts, however, doubt that Penn could face charges in the United States or Mexico.
"I seriously doubt that charges will be brought against them even though Sean Penn took extraordinary steps to prevent authorities from using his phone to track the whereabouts of Chapo," said Mike Vigil, a former senior official at the US Drug Enforcement Administration.
- 'Grotesque' interview -The meeting sparked criticism in the United States, where Republican Senator Marco Rubio told ABC television that the interview was "grotesque."
Rubio, who is seeking his party's presidential nomination, repeated his call for Guzman to be extradited.
Journalists questioned the ethical merits of the interview.
Washington Post executive editor Marty Baron tweeted a link to a December story about the dangers and death faced by Mexican journalists, commenting: "Good moment to remember what happens to real journalists who cover Mexican drug traffickers."
Rolling Stone posted a picture dated October 2 showing the Oscar-winning actor shaking hands with the mustachioed drug cartel leader.
Penn wrote that they had a seven-hour sit-down, followed by phone and video interviews.
"I supply more heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana than anybody else in the world," Guzman said over sips of tequila. "I have a fleet of submarines, airplanes, trucks and boats."
The White House said Guzman's boast about his trafficking exploits "is maddening."
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Mexican Druglord's Son Surrendered Voluntarily To US, Partner Was Kidnapped Mexican Drug Lord El Chapo's Son Didn't Kidnap Fellow Gangster, Says Lawyer How El Chapo's Son Helped US Arrest Famous Narco Chief El Mayo Life On Earth Originates From One Ancestor, Older Than Previously Believed Send Reports Every 2 Hours: Centre To States On Kolkata Horror Protests Siddaramaiah's Swipe At Governor Amid Calls For Resignation: 10 Points Trump, Kamala Harris To Fight For Pennsylvania Votes With Rally, Bus Tour Send Reports Every 2 Hours: Centre To States On Kolkata Horror Protests Thar, Scorpio SUVs Inside Restricted Zone In Ranthambore Tiger Reserve Seized Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.