The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) reported that it handed over to Mexican authorities 14 citizens of that country who were serving federal sentences for drug trafficking, under a treaty that allows prisoners to serve their sentences in their nation of origin.
The DOJ Office of International Affairs transferred the 14 Mexican citizens to the country’s authorities on Friday as part of the International Prisoner Transfer Treaty between the United States and Mexico authorized by both governments.
Each of the prisoners was serving a federal sentence in the United States for drug trafficking crimes, illegal possession of firearms or both, the DOJ detailed in a statement.
The 14 inmates had requested their transfer to Mexico, where they will serve the rest of their sentences, in accordance with the terms of the treaty.
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Under the transfer program, foreign prisoners, who may be in federal or state custody, must meet certain eligibility requirements and certain conditions to be transferred to their home country to serve the remainder of their sentences.
The United States currently maintains 10 additional bilateral transfer agreements and two multilateral transfer agreements, establishing treaty relationships with more than 85 countries.
These same treaties also allow Americans imprisoned abroad to request transfer to the United States.
This Tuesday, three American citizens convicted of trafficking in controlled substances were transferred to the United States, the DOJ reported, without specifying which country they were serving their sentences in.
The remaining sentences of the Americans benefiting from this program who arrived this December 9 range between 22 months and four and a half years.
With information from EFE.
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