Extradition from Belize—Defeated

Brothers Andrew “Papa” and Floyd Brown have beaten a request for their extradition from Belize.^[1] They are wanted in Florida for narcotics trafficking, but Belizean Chief Magistrate Herbert Lord dismissed the extradition case because he found that a prima facie case had not been made against the two men.^[2] Magistrate Lord said that the evidence presented was “hearsay upon hearsay upon hearsay,” and that no affidavits had been filed by anyone directly involved in the case.^[3] An affidavit was filed by DEA Special Agent Sheree Gordon, which the magistrate accepted, but the document contained only second- and third-hand assertions.^[4] Acknowledging that hearsay evidence is often accepted in extradition proceedings, Magistrate Lord found that in this case, “the specie is completely different.”^[5]

Under the terms of the extradition treaty between Belize and the United States, extradition requests must be supported by “evidence as would be sufficient, according to the law of the Requested State [Belize], to justify the committal for trial of the person sought if the offense of which the person has been accused had been committed in the Requested States.”^[6]

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[1] Brown Brothers Go Free as Extradition Case Crumbles, Channel5Belize.com, Sept. 20, 2005, available here [hereinafter Channel5]; “Pawpa” & Floyd Free After Beating Extradition, 7NewsBelize.com, Sept. 20, 2005, available here.
[2] Channel5.
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] Id.
[6] Extradition Treaty, Mar. 30, 2000, U.S.-Belize, art. 6, para. 3, sec. (c), S. Treaty Doc. No. 106-38 (2001).