Mexican judge blocks fast-track extradition of drug lord Guzman

A judge has blocked the fast-track extradition proceedings of the Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, media reported Tuesday.

The leader of the powerful drug organization Sinaloa Cartel "succeeded in getting a federal judge to suspend any attempts to immediately put him at the disposal of the United States," local daily newspaper El Excelsior reported.

"The judge granted a provisional suspension against ... any attempt at extradition without fulfilling the formalities of the process as required by law," the daily added.

The move has forced Mexican authorities to abide by the legal timetables, which could take about one to five years to complete, according to observers.

Jose Manuel Merino, international affairs official at the Attorney General's Office (PGR), told El Excelsior that "we are estimating on average, according to experience, around a year at the least."

The United States has filed two extradition requests with Mexico's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, though it is not clear yet where he will be tried.

The state of Texas has ensured the PGR that it will not apply the death penalty if Guzman is tried in Texas on charges of drug trafficking and other crimes, another daily newspaper, El Universal, reported.

Mexico has no death penalty and needs to make that request in other states, Merino said.

Guzman is currently being held at the same maximum-security prison from which he escaped in July with inside help, but Mexican authorities fear that he will buy his way out again with his vast wealth.

He was recaptured last Friday, following a raid on a residence in his home state of Sinaloa.

Before his recapture, Guzman had contacts with people outside the prison including U.S. actor Sean Penn, who published an interview with the cartel leader in Rolling Stone, a biweekly magazine that focuses on popular culture. Mexican authorities said such contacts led them to Guzman's hideout. Endi