Extradition from Trinidad and Tobago—Trafficking in Narcotics

A Guyanese man who is wanted by the United States for allegedly trafficking nearly $75 million worth of cocaine has been ordered to be extradited from Trinidad and Tobago to the US.^[1] Raphel Christopher Douglas, who entered Trinidad and Tobago illegally, originally argued before the Port of Spain Eighth Magistrate’s Court, that the country did not have the jurisdiction to extradite him because he was arrested for an offense that allegedly occurred in Barbados.^[2] After determining that the court had jurisdiction, Mr. Douglas then asked to stay the case so that he could file a habeas corpus application in Trinidad and Tobago’s High Court. The magistrate refused, saying that going to the High Court before he could make a ruling “would be putting the cart before the horse since there would be no ruling” to overturn.^[3] After the magistrate was satisfied that a prima facie case had been made against Mr. Douglas, he ordered him to be extradited and advised him that a habeas corpus application needs to be filed within 15 days.^[4]

The extradition treaty between the United States and Trinidad and Tobago is a relatively recent agreement; it was signed in 1996 and came into force in 1999.^[5] The treaty contains a dual-criminality clause, which means that an offense is extraditable “if, under the laws of Trinidad and Tobago, it is an indictable offense and if, under the laws of the United States, it is punishable by deprivation of liberty for a period of more than one year or by a more severe penalty.”^[6] Furthermore, extradition is available for attempts and conspiracies to commit the offense.^[7] If the offense occurred outside the territory of the requesting state (the United States), extradition will be granted if the laws in the requested state (Trinidad and Tobago) provide for the punishment of an offense committed outside its territory in similar circumstances; if the laws do not so, provide, the requested state can use its discretion and extradite the individual anyway.^[8]
Trafficking in narcotics is an offense in both nations, so the dual-criminality component is satisfied. However, there is a suggestion that Trinidad and Domingo does not give extraterritorial effect to its domestic laws,^[9] so Mr. Douglas will need to convince the executive authority in Trinidad and Tobago not to exercise its discretion to extradite him.

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[1] Hayden Mills, Guyanese Loses Case; to Face US Drug Charges, Trinidad & Tobago Express, Sept. 15, 2005, available here.
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] Extradition Treaty, Mar. 4, 1996, U.S.-Trin. & Tobago, S. Treaty Doc. No. 105-21 (1999).
[6] Id. art. 2, para. 1.
[7] Id. art. 2, para. 2.
[8] Id. art. 2, para. 4.
[9] See Association of Caribbean States, Declaration of Santo Domingo, Apr. 16-17, 1999, available here; Declaration of the Tenth Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Rio Group, held in Cochabamba, Bolivia, on 3-4 September 1996, submitted to the 51st Session of the United Nations General Assembly, U.N. Doc. A/51/375 (September 19, 1996), available here.