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Exclusive: Sinaloa Cartel Defendant Flown from Mexico to US Is Detained But Says No Legal Extradition - with more/extra here

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Matthew Russell Lee / ICP
Aug 13, 2025
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by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack

SDNY Exclusive, Aug 13 – A defendant flown from Mexico to New York on August 12 argued on August 13, through assigned counsel, that he had not been legally extradited but rather was a prize in a "deal that was cut."

The claim was put on the record before U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Magistrate Judge Henry J. Ricardo. Inner City Press, the only media in the SDNY Mag Court, live tweeted it.

The defendant, Leobardo Garcia Corrales, was indicted in 2023, with the overt acts in the indictment including that he "attended a meeting at a ranch in Sinaloa, Mexico, which was protected by armed guards carrying AK-47s... negotiating the sale of fentanyl in the US" - 1000 kilos.

This week he was one of more than 20 flown to the US by Mexico, after what is described as pressure and dealmaking. But how will the legality of extradition arguments be dealt with, going forward, by Federal District Judges?

He was detained on consent. Inner City Press will follow this and other cases as they move forward, before different judges

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