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Carlos Albert Yacaman Meza v. U.S. Attorney General

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[PUBLISH]

Before WILSON, PRYOR, and MARTIN, Circuit Judges.

This appeal involves the constitutional separation of powers and the limited judicial role in the extradition of a foreign national. Carlos Alberto Yacaman Meza, a Honduran national, appeals the denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. See 28 U.S.C. § 2241 (2006). The Republic of Honduras requested, under the United States-Honduras Extradition Treaty of 1909, that the United States extradite Yacaman for prosecution on the charge of murder of a fellow Honduran national, Luis Rolando Valenzuela Ulloa. At the request of the United States, a magistrate judge held an extradition hearing and issued a certification of extraditability for Yacaman. See 18 U.S.C. § 3184 (2006). Witnesses to the alleged murder averred, without dispute, that Yacaman shot Valenzuela at a restaurant for his refusal to deliver on a bribe for government contracts. Yacaman then filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus to block his extradition, but the district court denied that petition. On appeal, Yacaman contends that the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment bars his extradition by the Secretary of State, that the murder of Valenzuela constitutes a political offense for which he cannot be extradited, and that there is no valid extradition treaty in force between Honduras and the United States. Yacaman’s first argument is not ripe because the Secretary of State has not yet determined whether he is likely to be tortured nor decided whether to extradite him, and his other arguments lack merit. We vacate in part and affirm in part the denial of Yacaman’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus, lift the stay of the extradition proceedings, and remand with instructions to dismiss Yacaman’s claim under the Convention Against Torture.

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