U.S., Mexico Working Out Legal Kinks Involving Foreign Arrests, Consular Rights by Michael Coleman Officials in Mexico and the United States are currently deliberating over two important legal issues affecting both countriesóone involving consular rights for death row inmates and the other involving arrests made in other countries. A recent ruling by the International Court of Justice at the Hague ordered the review of dozens of U.S. death row cases in the United States. The March 31 decision ruled that the United States violated the rights of 51 Mexican inmates on death row in American prisons because it didnít tell them of their rights to consular assistance from the Mexican government. Informing foreign prisoners of that right is required under the 1963 Vienna Convention. The ruling, however, will not undermine anti-terror and anti-drug efforts between the two nations, according to a top Mexican diplomat in Washington. ìMexico is cooperating strongly with the U.S. against terrorism, organized crime and money laundering,î said Eduardo Ibarrola, deputy chief of mission at the Mexican Embassy. ìWe have a strong basis of legal cooperation with the United States.î Ibarrola said that all 51 cases are under review, mostly by the state courts that issued the convictions. He added that the Mexican government, which does not sponsor a death penalty, is not necessarily seeking to have the verdicts overturned but is simply working to ensure that each defendant was given his rights. ìWe, of course, are totally in respect of U.S. law,î Ibarrola said. ìThe consular protections are not meant to determine impunity or criminality. Each case is according to the rule of law.î Ibarrola said some key legal defense questions remain unanswered in many of the death row cases. For example, if the defendant only spoke Spanish, did they receive counsel from an attorney who spoke Spanish or, at the least, was an interpreter provided? In addition, did the defense consider all available evidence? ìItís also very important to visit these people in jail and see if they are being treated with the regulations of the jail and to see if everything is done in accordance with their human and civil rights,î Ibarrola explained. The deputy chief of mission said that Mexico simply wants the United States to offer the protections granted to American citizens in Mexico who are experiencing legal trouble. ìThis is the same way Americans demand to be treated in our country,î Ibarrola said. ìItís a matter of reciprocation.î Another high-profile legal matter involving questionable tactics used by the U.S. government in dealing with a Mexican suspect touches on the larger issue of foreign arrests and whether foreigners can sue the U.S. government for alleged human rights abuses that take place abroad. The two related cases (Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain and U.S. v. Alvarez-Machain), which are currently under review by the U.S. Supreme Court, center on a Mexican doctor who claims he was kidnapped by U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents. Humberto Alvarez-Machain, a Mexican doctor arrested in the killing of a Drug Enforcement Agency agentóand later acquitted by a federal courtócontends that he was illegally kidnapped and arrested while in Mexico. The highly complex cases involve the Federal Tort Claims Act and Alien Tort Statute. An appeals court in San Francisco last year ruled that Alvarez-Machain could sue the U.S. government because American drug agents are not permitted to make arrests in foreign countries or territories. The U.S. government has appealed the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, and officials on both sides of the debate are watching the high-profile case closely as the Bush administration continues to establish ground rules in the war on terror. Ibarrolaówho declined to comment on the Alvarez-Machain case citing a lack of specific knowledge about the circumstancesósaid the Mexican government, through its embassy and consulates in the United States, is working to make sure that every American jurisdiction affected by the Hague ruling on the 51 death row inmates is aware of the decision. ìEvery case is different and each is in a different procedural stage,î he said. Todd Gaziano, director of the Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative Washington think-tank, said the Hague ruling did not appear to take into account the fact that the U.S. legal system at every level of government offers far better protections to defendants than they would receive in most countries. ìThe right to consult with consular officers is particularly important in countries where there isnít the full panoply of due process protections that we have here,î Gaziano said. He pointed out that many foreign nationals arrested in the United States likely donít disclose the fact that they might be in the country illegally, so consular services are not considered. As for appeals by the defendantsí lawyers that the death penalty should not be applied because it is not condoned in Mexico, Gaziano said these ìshould be roundly ignored.î ìThey have to understand whether they were here legally or not, they are bound by our laws,î he said. However, Gaziano added that he essentially has no problem with the Hagueís ruling to review each case. ìItís not that difficult to implement,î he said. ìItís not a decision to reverse these cases by any means.î Ibarrola said Mexico does not presume to think that it can pre-empt U.S. judicial policy, but it wants to be given the right to provide legal assistance that could curtail the use of the death penalty. In neighboring Texas, the high number of executions is notorious among anti-death penalty activists. ìWith the death penalty, you cannot correct a mistake,î Ibarrola said. ìThe death penalty is often applied to poor people who didnít have a proper defense.î Ibarrola, who was Mexicoís consul general in Houston before coming to Washington last year, believes that the Hagueís ruling has resulted to some degree in a greater awareness among local jurisdictions about arresting Mexican nationals. In Harris County, where Houston is located, officials are picking up the phone and contacting Mexican consular officials much more frequently, Ibarrola noted. ìWe are starting to see a lot more consular notifications,î he said. ìIt allows us to get to work immediately.î Michael Coleman is a freelance writer in Washington, D.C.