First-Ever Extradition of a Salvadoran National

C O N F I D E N T I A L SAN SALVADOR 000055 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/01/29 TAGS: PGOV PREL KJUS JUS ES SUBJECT: First-Ever Extradition of a Salvadoran National REF: 09 SAN SALVADOR 1111 CLASSIFIED BY: RBlau, CDA, DOS; REASON: 1.4(D) ¶1. (SBU) On January 29, the GOES extradited convicted rapist Jose Marvin Martinez to the U.S. aboard an FBI jet, marking the first time the GOES has surrendered one of its citizens to the U.S. under the 1911 bilateral extradition treaty. This landmark achievement, the product of two years of engagement with the GOES, paves the way for future extraditions of Salvadoran nationals to the U.S. ¶2. (C) The Salvadoran Supreme Court authorized Martinez's extradition on December 22, 2009 (reftel),however, this being the GOES's first-ever extradition, there were no procedures in place to govern Martinez's surrender to the U.S. As a result, Judicial Attache guided Salvadoran authorities - including the Supreme Court, National Civilian Police, Attorney General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration authority - through the process of turning Martinez over to U.S. custody. In the coming weeks, Judicial Attache will meet with these same stakeholders, together with U.S. officials from ICE and the FBI, to establish formal procedures to govern the extradition process in the future. ¶3. (C) Comment: This victory is the fruit of more than two years of intense Embassy lobbying, characterized by effective inter-agency cooperation (both at post and in Washington). For the GOES, extradition promises to be a valuable mechanism to prevent criminals from using El Salvador as a safe haven from prosecution. BLAU