Extradition from the United States to Mexico—Jean Succar Kuri

A wealthy Cancun businessman has been approved for extradition to Mexico by US District Court Judge David K. Duncan.^[1] Jean Succar Kuri is wanted in Mexico on corruption, child-sex, and pornography charges, and his Mexican prosecution could test that country’s legal system.^[2] Mr. Succar Kuri, is a legal U.S resident, and has been in jail since his arrest in February of 2004.^[3]

His case took on international notoriety after Lydia Cacho, a journalist who wrote about allegations against Mr. Succar Kuri, was arrested in December.^[4] Her book, The Demons of Eden, “asserts that powerful politicians have pressured Mexican prosecutors to back off from charging [Mr.] Succar Kuri,” an allegation that resulted in Puebla police arresting her in Cancun “to face local charges of criminal libel”; Cancun is 900 miles outside Puebla’s jurisdiction.^[5] The charges against Ms. Cacho were dropped, but “leaked audiotapes purportedly show[] that the governor of Puebla … had engineered the arrest as a favor for Mexican clothing magnate Kamel Nacif,” who is described in The Demons of Eden as a confidant and protector of Mr. Succar Kuri.^[6]

Even though Mr. Succar Kuri’s primary accuser has recanted her testimony, District Court Judge Duncan said that the Mexican extradition request was accompanied by pictures of “disrobed children” on Mr. Succar Kuri’s bed, which “constitute probable cause that the pornography offense has been committed.”^[7] The US government is also considering bringing charges against Mr. Succar Kuri because it is alleged that he brought some alleged victims to Los Angeles and Las Vegas.^[8]

The decision to extradite him must be approved by the Secretary of State,^[9] who has 2 months to make the decision.^[10] Mr. Succar Kuri plans an appeal against Judge Duncan’s extradition order.

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[1] Kevin G. Hall, Legal System Tested in Tycoon’s Porn Case, Knight Ridder New (via Miami Herald), Apr. 9, 2006.
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] Id.
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
[8] Id.
[9] 18 U.S.C. § 3186.
[10] Id. § 3188.