Extraditions Are Not About Justice
The Highly Politicized Process of Transferring Fugitives Across Borders Was Primarily Designed to Prevent Impunity
Myths naturally swirl around colorful international fugitives like Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, global arms trafficker Viktor Bout, and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. But myths are also common with regard to the process by which such wanted individuals are most commonly transferred from one jurisdiction to another to face justice, namely, extradition. Because of these myths, extradition—although well-known—is often misunderstood.
The media sometimes covers extradition as a criminal trial or as a judicial decision about a fugitive’s guilt or innocence, but neither is correct. Extradition is best understood …
