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MEXICO CITY, June 28 (Xinhua) -- A Mexican judge on Tuesday suspended the extradition of drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman until two appeals filed by his lawyers could be heard, according to an official notice from the court.
On Monday, Guzman's defense team filed two appeals at the second district court of Mexico City, saying that the statute of limitations has expired on certain charges their client faces in the United States and that a lack of evidence undermines other charges.
On Tuesday, judge Jose Diaz de Leon agreed that the appeals had enough merit to be heard and temporarily suspended the extradition of the drug lord.
Jose Refugio Rodriguez, the chief of Guzman's defense team, told the press after the decision that he thought the appeals could take up to three years to be resolved.
Rodriguez added that he would take this matter all the way to Mexico's Supreme Court as he feels the Mexican government signed off on Guzman's extradition without enough evidence against him.
In May, the Mexican Foreign Ministry signed two extradition agreements, allowing Guzman to be sent to the United States to face trial on charges of conspiracy to import and distribute drugs, money laundering and murder.
Guzman is currently being held in a federal prison of Ciudad Juarez, in the northern state of Chihuahua.
