Sinaloa Cartel Defendant Flown from Mexico to US Is Detained Now a Co-D Pleads Guilty

Sinaloa Cartel Defendant Flown from Mexico to US Is Detained Now a Co-D Pleads Guilty by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack SDNY Exclusive, April 8 – A defendant flown from Mexico to New York on August 12 argued on August 13, through assigned counsel, that he had not been legally extradited but rather was a prize in a "deal that was cut."     The claim was put on the record before U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Magistrate Judge Henry J. Ricardo.  Inner City Press, the only media in the SDNY Mag Court, live tweeted it.   The defendant, Leobardo Garcia Corrales, was indicted in 2023, with the overt acts in the indictment including that he "attended a meeting at a ranch in Sinaloa, Mexico, which was protected by armed guards carrying AK-47s... negotiating the sale of fentanyl in the US" - 1000 kilos.     This week he was one of more than 20 flown to the US by Mexico, after what is described as pressure and dealmaking. But how will the legality of extradition arguments be dealt with, going forward, by Federal District Judges?    He was detained on consent. On August 20 he appeared in front of Judge Rochon, who put him on the same scheduled as a co-defendant with a next date on October 15 - a third co-defendant will apparently have his September 10 date moved to October 15 too. The legality of the transfer from Mexico was not raised. Jump cut to October 28 when the US Attorney's Office wrote in the day before an October 29 status conference asking to adjourn it 30 days to "allow the parties to continue their ongoing negotiations regarding a potential pretrial disposition." On April 8, 2026, co-defendant Anastacio Soto Vega pled guilty, with sentencing set for July 9 at 11:30 am. More on X for Subscribers here and Substack here This case is USA v. Corrales, et al., 1:23-cr-136 (Rochon) *** Your support means a lot. As little as $5 a month helps keep us going and grants you access to exclusive bonus material on our Patreon page. Click here to become a patron. Feedback: Editorial [at] innercitypress.com Mail: Box 130222, Chinatown Station, NY NY 10013 Other, earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.  Copyright 2006-2026 Inner City Press, Inc. To request reprint or other permission, e-contact Editorial [at] innercitypress.com