NEW DOMINICAN EXTRADITION PROCESS RETURNS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 SANTO DOMINGO 001971

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CAR (MCISAAC),L/LEI (TAYLOR AND FUENTES)
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE FOR CRIM/OIS (MAZUREK, ORJALES,
SOKOHL)
US MARSHAL SERVICE PLEASE PASS TO CHRIS DUDLEY
DEA FOR OF, OFI, DO, DCO

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CJAN KCRM SNAR KJUS PREL DR
SUBJECT: NEW DOMINICAN EXTRADITION PROCESS RETURNS
FUGITIVES TO THE U.S.

REF: A. 04 SANTO DOMINGO 05858

B. SANTO DOMINGO 00799

C. SANTO DOMINGO 00899

D. SANTO DOMINGO XXXX


1. (U) SUMMARY. Two fugitives have been returned to the
United States under the new Dominican extradition process.
The Penal Chamber of the Supreme Court issued lengthy
opinions in both cases, setting non-binding but advisory
precedents that bode well for future extradition cases.
Additionally, the executive branch, both through the Attorney
General's office and the Office of the Legal Advisor to the
President, has been engaged, active and cooperative on
extradition matters. The USG can look for continued success
in extraditing fugitives from the Dominican Republic to the
United States. END SUMMARY.



2. (U) The adoption of a new criminal procedural code in
the Dominican Republic changed the extradition process in the
Dominican Republic (Refs A & B). Under the provisions of the
new code, a captured fugitive has the right to an oral
extradition hearing in the Penal Chamber of the Supreme
Court. So far, the Penal Chamber has heard the cases of two
fugitives, and in each it has found the extradition request
of the USG to be valid and executable.

--------------
Test case - Quirino Paulino Castillo
--------------


3. (U) The first case under the new code was that of Quirino
Paulino Castillo (Refs B & C),captured in late December with
over 1300 kilos of cocaine. In the highly publicized case,
in which some camps argued that extraditing Paulino Castillo
amounted to relinquishing Dominican sovereignty to the United
States, the Attorney General's office supported the USG
request for extradition and worked closely with Embassy
officers on a strategy for the first Supreme Court hearing on
an extradition case under the new Criminal Procedures Code.


4. (SBU) The Penal Chamber of the Supreme Court held the
hearing in stages on January 25, February 1, February 4, with
the final decision issued on February 18, 2005. At each
stage Dominican Assistant Attorney General Gisela Cueto and
the attorney appointed by the Dominican Attorney General's
office to represent the USG's interests argued vigorously for
the extradition of Paulino Castillo.


5. (U) The Penal Chamber of the Supreme Court issued a
single-spaced 45-page decision addressing each of the
arguments of the fugitive and finding for the interests of
the USG. The decision not only dealt with case-specific
motions, but also laid down internal procedure for the Penal
Chamber,s handling of extradition cases in the future. We
are pouching to L/LEI a copy of the decision - due to the
length and the technical nature of the language, Embassy
officers have not translated it.


6. (U) After the Penal Chamber of the Supreme Court reached
its decision, the case returned to the executive branch. The
Assistant Attorney General drafted an executive order for
extradition and delivered it personally to the Legal Advisor
to the President Cesar Pina Toribio at the Presidential
Palace. The Legal Advisor quickly reviewed the judgement and
hours after the rendering of the Supreme Court's decision,
President Leonel Fernandez signed a decree authorizing the
departure of Paulino Castillo under escort to the Southern
District of New York where he is awaiting trial.


7. (SBU) The first case required particularly close
coordination among Embassy officers (DEA, NAS, PA, LEGAT,
CONS, ECOPOL),L/LEI, DOJ/OIA and Dominican players. Without
the assistance of all of the above, the case may not have
reached a successful conclusion.


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- -
Case two - the system works - Velazquez Minyetty
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


8. (U) Hearings on the second contested extradition took
place on March 4 and March 11, with the final decision issued
on March 29, 2005 with much less publicity. The Assistant
Attorney General and the attorney designated to represent the
USG's interest at the hearing relied on the arguments they
had made in the Paulino Castillo hearing and the Penal
Chamber's written decision in that case.


9. (U) The Penal Chamber of the Supreme Court followed the
reasoning it used in the Paulino Castillo case in applying to
the Velazquez Minyetty case the Dominican Constitution, the
bilateral extradition treaty between the United States and
the Dominican Republic, the 1988 Vienna Convention on
Trafficking in Drugs, and the Dominican criminal procedural.
This approach resulted in a 38-page decision granting the USG
extradition request and denying the fugitive,s request to
remain in the Dominican Republic.


10. (U) Within one week of the Supreme Court decision and
without Embassy intervention, the executive produced the
extradition order and President Fernandez signed it.
Minyetty was returned to the Southern District of New York to
stand trial (Ref D).
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Unintended consequences and future cases
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


11. (U) An unintended but positive consequence of the high
profile Paulino Castillo case and the change in the criminal
procedural code is that upon arrest, some fugitives have
opted to return to the United States as quickly as possible.
So far this year two who would have been subject to the new
provisions have waived their rights and returned voluntarily
under U.S. Marshal escort to the United States. Another now
in custody has told Dominican authorities that he plans to
waive his hearing rights.


12. (U) Now that the AG's office, the Penal Chamber of the
Supreme Court and the Legal Advisor to the President have
some experience with the new code and methodology, we see no
obstacles to continued success in returning fugitives to the
United States.

- - - - -
Comment
- - - - -


13. (U) Extradition cases have been a bright spot in
USG/Dominican relations for the past seven years. The
Dominican authorities have sent more than 90 bad guys back to
the United States. The new code makes the process more
democratic and transparent. Previously, the executive branch
alone handled extraditions. The involvement of the judicial
branch via public extradition hearings ensures that the
defendants' rights are acknowledged and observed and that the
public has access to the proceedings.


14. (U) All concerned officials - - both USG and Dominican
were a bit apprehensive as the first case made it through the
new system. One potential issue was the procedure for
representing USG interests in the courtroom - whether the
Dominican authorities would undertake this duty (in the end,
they did so). If things had gone badly, we might have had to
contemplate renegotiating the bilateral extradition treaty or
asking the Dominican executive and legislature to amend the
new criminal procedural code. Things went well, however, and
the Dominican executive branch has become fully engaged in
assisting on extradition requests.


15. (U) The Penal Chamber of the Supreme Court has set
non-binding, advisory precedents in extradition cases that
guide its future deliberations. Because the legal system is
not a case law system, no binding decisions are rendered by
the Court - all decisions are advisory. The Chamber is
expected to follow the course it has set with these first two
cases and to continue to grant USG extradition requests.


16. (U) Legal Advisor to the President Cesar Pina Toribio
moved the Velazquez Minyetty case quickly and efficiently
through his office, in contrast to the previous
administration. Repeatedly during the Mejia days the
Ambassador found himself asking the President to instruct his
Legal Advisor to pass him the executive decrees for
signature. The change in this area signals shorter waiting
periods in returning fugitives to the United States.


17. (U) The improvements under the new system do not mean
that there won't be bumps in the road as the USG continues to
request the return of fugitives. However, with the first few
cases successfully completed, we think we may have moved from
unpaved streets to relatively pothole free highways.



18. (U) This cable was drafted by Angela Kerwin.
HERTELL