In legal and national security circles, the appearance last week of a Guatemalan called Otoniel Turcios Marroquin generated a good deal of concern. According to the United States, the 49 year old Marroquin is a Drug boss linked with Cartels in Guatemala and Mexico.
But he was caught in Belize last week and given an expulsion order - which meant he was put on a plane and sent to Fort Lauderdale, Florida in custody, presumably, of the DEA.
The Prensa Libre newspaper in Guatemala reports that right now he's reportedly in New York where there has been an arrest warrant for him since 2006 alleging distribution of 600 kilos of cocaine.
But he has retained two attorneys in Belize, Elston Kaseke and Oswald Twist who are asking the Supreme Court to order the police to produce their client.
It's called a writ of habeas corpus and Justice Adolph Lucas dismissed the application today.
Justice Lucas made the dismissal after Assistant Superintendent of Police Lincoln Hemsley, the commanding officer for the anti-drug unit, testified that around 3 on the afternoon of Thursday, October 28, he took Marroquin to the PGIA and escorted him to a small white airplane.
He went on to say that he saw Marroquin board the airplane bound for Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with Marroquin and four men on board, two of them Americans.
Attorney Elson Kaseke told us that what took place with their client wasn't right:
Elston Kaseke, Attorney
"Attorney Oswald Twist and I had to spend the whole day being referred from police station to police station when the people in Belmopan know exactly what they were doing that they wanted to carry Mr. Marroquin to the US and that was their intention. That shows bad faith. The police arrested Mr. Marroquin in San Ignacio on the 25th of October 2010, they detain him in Belmopan police station and he went missing from Belmopan Police station so we started asking for his whereabouts, it was when we applied for a writ of Habeas corpus that we were inform that Mr. Marroquin had been from Belize, destination unknown. So when we came to court they say that they expelled him and as you saw in court it was very difficult for the police department to say they handed Mr. Marroquin over to the US. They came on Friday and say he was expelled on the 26th - today is the 28th. Our evidence all along was that 27th Mr. Marroquin was in the country, we took an affidavit from him relating to the Habeas corpus proceedings, but they still went ahead. This is official abduction which they are trying to cloth with some vestments of legality. The fact is it is abduction; it is illegal and we are going to challenge the legality of the expulsion order and the circumstances under which Mr. Marroquin left this country. It was his duty rather to know where he was handing over Mr. Marroquin to which country he was expelling him from Belize and so on. You must remember that Mr. Marroquin did not leave Belize voluntarily, he was expelled; everything was under the control of the police department and facetious in my view for the same police to come and say we only know that the plane was headed for Fort Lauderdale in the USA."
Oswald Twist, Attorney
"What we will do is file a constitutional motion not only in terms of Mr. Marroquin case but in case of any other situation where they would want to do similar things; they would think twice before they do such a thing. That is our position is filing constitutional motion."
Hemsley produced a copy of the departure record, signed by Marroquin and an affidavit, dated November 1, that was signed by him. On October 25 police picked up Marroquin in San Ignacio Town. On October 26, Hon. Carlos Perdomo, the minister of Defense and Immigration, signed an expulsion order for Marroquin to leave Belize.
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