According to The Rocky Mountain News, Congressman Bob Beauprez "wants to block $66 million in aid to Mexico if the country will not hand over accused cop-killers without strings attached."
Beauprez, an Arvada Republican, has joined forces with Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., on legislation inspired by the May 8 killing of Denver Police Detective Donald Young. Their bill, expected to be filed this week, would cut off foreign aid to any country that fails to live up to extradition treaties in cases involving suspects accused of killing federal, state and local law enforcement officers.
Beauprez said it would apply to Mexico. Mexico has said it won't extradite its citizens to the United States if they could face the death penalty. That position is based on a treaty signed by the two countries. In addition, the Mexican Supreme Court has blocked extradition of suspects facing life in prison without possibility of parole.
You can debate the merits of this bill on your own, but the quote at the end of the story certainly won't do much to help Beauprez court Hispanic voters in his run for governor...
At a meeting Monday with Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., Mexico's ambassador to the U.S., Carlos de Icaza, reportedly pledged to expedite a decision on extradition. Allard said that process would take one to three years, and there was no guarantee on which country would host a trial. The ambassador reportedly told Allard: "We are very serious about our international agreements, and we are very serious about applying justice." That does not satisfy Beauprez, who scoffed at the one- to three-year time frame.
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