Mark Seawell one of 3 brothers to be extradited

Mark Seawell

Since October 2006, the US government requested the extradition of Mark Seawell. The case has been in the lower courts for close to five years, but today Chief Magistrate Margaret McKenzie handed down a decision on the fate of Mark Seawell. Seawell, along with his two brothers, Duane and Gary, have been wanted for a number of alleged drug-trafficking and money laundering offences dating back to the mid-nineties.  Seawell was arrested in February 2007. Upon the closing of the first phase of application for extradition to the U.S, McKenzie handed down a thirteen page decision stating that Seawell is to be handed over to the U.S.  Seawell, whose attorney Arthur Saldivar was absent from court today, was represented by Attorney Dickie Bradley. Bradley says that the case will move to the higher courts, whereby Seawell has a period of fifteen days to challenge that decision in the Supreme Court.

Dickie Bradley, Attorney Representing Arthur Saldivar

Dickie Bradley

“What has happened is that the chief Magistrate has made a ruling that on the basis of what is referred to as the ‘bundle’, which is thousands of documents in this particular application, that she is satisfied that the bundle establishes what in law is required to be established merely that there is an offence, or offences alleged against Mr. Seawell which falls under the list of offences that are extraditable. She has also come to the decision that on the basis of what is contained in those bundles that on the face of it, that that falls within the requirement that there is sufficiency for her to agree that the matter goes to the United States of America. If Mr. Sewell is actually extradited to the United States of America, there has to be an actual trial on the details of the facts of the various allegations. I have no doubt in my mind that in fact Mr. Seawell’s attorneys will go to the Supreme Court to challenge everything that took place in the inferior courts here in the Magistrate’s Court in regards to Mr. Seawell going to the United States. The extradition law is that when the Chief Magistrate made her decision just now, nothing can happen, I want to emphasize this, nothing can happen with Mr. Seawell until after fifteen days, that is the law and that is the treaty that is signed between Belize and America.”

Seawell will remain imprisoned at the Kolbe Foundation within the next two weeks. Bradley said that it is expected that Saldivar will proceed in the higher courts. There’s another recent case of extradition. Businessman Rhett Fuller only has one more option, which is to challenge a recent decision by the Minister of Foreign Affairs to hand him over to the US government. Fuller is incarcerated at the Central Prison.