SANTO DOMINGO.- The judges of the Supreme Court of Justice postponed hearing the extradition request to the United States against the Dominican Esteffani José Vásquez Amaranteformer partner of Congresswoman Jacqueline Fernández, who is wanted by North American authorities for his alleged connection to a drug trafficking case in Puerto Rico.
Before hearing the extradition request, the court must impose a coercive measure of preventive detention, a hearing that was rescheduled for next Tuesday the 18th, with the aim that his lawyer, Ricardo Sánchez, has time to study the file and prepare his defense arguments.
The postponement was ordered by judges Fran Soto, María Garabito and Deisis Montás, members of the Second Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice, after Vásquez Amarante’s defense made the formal request for postponement.
The Public Ministry, represented by the court attorney and head of International Legal Assistance and Extradition, Osvaldo Bonilla, together with the prosecutor Elvira Rodríguez, did not oppose the request of the defense lawyer. Nor did the legal representative of the requesting country, Analdi Alcántara, a lawyer representing the United States.
After the postponement of the hearing, agents from the National Drug Control Directorate (DNCD) transferred Vásquez Amarante from the court to the institution’s jail, where he will remain detained pending the continuation of the extradition process.
Before the postponement, lawyer Ricardo Sánchez declared that his client was surprised by the judicial process against him. He also stated that Vásquez Amarante could surrender voluntarily, since, in his words, “he who has no facts, has no suspicion.”
The defense also stated that Vásquez Amarante is a merchant in La Romana, where he lends money and sells clothes.
