INTERNATIONAL EXTRADITION · CENTRAL AMERICA
Extradition from Panama to the United States.
Treaty for the Mutual Extradition of Criminals controls the request. Panama's Constitution bars extradition of Panamanian nationals. The arrest clock and local review path decide what happens next.
THE SHORT ANSWER
In force, old list treaty No authoritative standard timeline found. Old-treaty document issues and constitutional litigation can materially affect duration.
Treaty for the Mutual Extradition of Criminals
Effective: 1905-05-08
WHAT COUNSEL CHECKS FIRST
The active paper. The country. The clock.
THE RESPONSE ROOM
What has to be established first.
FIRST HOURS
Identify the legal basis for custody
Record the arresting authority, court, case number, custody location, interpreter need, and any hearing date. Ask for counsel before discussing the foreign accusation.
WHO DECIDES
The local record controls
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs receives the request and transmits it to the Ministry of Government/Public Prosecutor and competent courts as required. Judicial review addresses treaty and legal requirements; the executive makes the surrender determination.
THE CLOCK
Deadlines are event-specific
The old treaty permits urgent provisional detention on telegraphic/diplomatic information. The person must be released if a duly authenticated request is not produced within two months, without necessarily preventing a later request. No authoritative standard timeline found. Old-treaty document issues and constitutional litigation can materially affect duration.
DOCUMENT AUDIT
Build the file before the argument
Preserve the notice or warrant, charging papers, identity records, release terms, travel documents, medical records, and every dated communication. Do not alter or delete evidence.
FOR FAMILIES COORDINATING ACROSS BORDERS
Confirm the exact legal name, detention location, medication needs, next hearing, local lawyer, and one reliable contact channel. A consulate may assist with welfare and contact; it cannot cancel the local case.
02 · THE PROCESS
How the Panama process moves.
Judicial and executive stages
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs receives the request and transmits it to the Ministry of Government/Public Prosecutor and competent courts as required. Judicial review addresses treaty and legal requirements; the executive makes the surrender determination.
Appeal and review
Habeas corpus and other constitutional/judicial remedies may challenge detention and surrender; the route depends on the issuing authority and stage.
03 · DEFENSES
The request still has to survive the record.
ISSUE
Treaty coverage
The charged conduct, punishment threshold, documents, and identity must fit the controlling treaty and local implementing law.
ISSUE
Dual criminality
The 1904 treaty is list-based. The conduct must fit an enumerated offense and satisfy the treaty's evidentiary/domestic-law requirements; modern dual-criminality analysis alone does not cure a missing listed offense, though multilateral conventions may provide separate authority.
ISSUE
Political and protected offenses
Political offenses are excluded. Pure military and fiscal matters require close analysis under the old list and Panamanian law; there is no modern all-offenses fiscal clause.
ISSUE
Evidence and process
The request can be tested against the treaty standard, authentication requirements, limitation rules, and procedural guarantees that apply locally.
ISSUE
Human rights and punishment
Panama has abolished the death penalty. A capital request requires assurances. Constitutional due process, physical integrity, health and non-refoulement protections may affect surrender.
ISSUE
Specialty and assurances
Yes in substance: surrender is for the offense(s) granted, subject to treaty consent/waiver rules.
04 · PUBLIC EXAMPLES
Recent public extradition records.
These examples come from public government records and are not presented as Spodek Law Group matters or results.
Michel Cedeno-Castillo
sex trafficking, alien-related offenses, extortion and cyberstalking
Mercedes Morera Roche
human smuggling conspiracy
05 · THE CHARGES
What appears in the requests.
A Red Notice is not the extradition order.
A Red Notice asks police worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person, subject to each country's law. It is not an international arrest warrant, and it does not replace the treaty papers or the local extradition case.
The notice, the provisional-arrest request, and the surrender proceeding are separate records. Each can carry different defects, deadlines, and remedies.
07 · THIRD-COUNTRY RISK
Transit can expose a person to another country's arrest rules, immigration powers, or provisional request. This page gives no route or evasion advice. Review the actual warrant, notice, release conditions, and jurisdictions with counsel before travel.
08 · QUESTIONS
What families and targets ask first.
IMMEDIATE EXTRADITION QUESTIONS
It can. Border screening may expose a national warrant, INTERPOL data, immigration authority, or a provisional request under another country's law. This is not travel or evasion advice; the actual records and jurisdictions require review before travel.
AUTHORITIESwww.interpol.int
Release depends on Panama's current law, the arrest authority, flight-risk findings, and the stage of the request. No general website answer can predict it. Local counsel should address custody while U.S. counsel verifies the federal matter and request.
AUTHORITIESwww.justice.gov
Not automatically. Extradition, asylum, immigration removal, and non-refoulement are separate legal systems that may interact. The forum, protected status, alleged conduct, treaty, and current human-rights evidence determine which arguments are available.
AUTHORITIESwww.justice.gov
COUNTRY PROCEDURE
Yes. Treaty for the Mutual Extradition of Criminals is in force, old list treaty; the stated effective date is 1905-05-08. Always verify treaty status with the U.S. State Department/Office of International Affairs for a live case.
AUTHORITIEShistory.state.govwww.govinfo.gov
Panama's Constitution bars extradition of Panamanian nationals. The treaty does not override that current constitutional protection; prosecution in Panama or other cooperation may be considered.
AUTHORITIEShistory.state.govwww.organojudicial.gob.pa
The 1904 treaty is list-based. The conduct must fit an enumerated offense and satisfy the treaty's evidentiary/domestic-law requirements; modern dual-criminality analysis alone does not cure a missing listed offense, though multilateral conventions may provide separate authority.
AUTHORITIEShistory.state.govwww.congress.gov
The old treaty permits urgent provisional detention on telegraphic/diplomatic information. The person must be released if a duly authenticated request is not produced within two months, without necessarily preventing a later request.
AUTHORITIEShistory.state.govwww.justice.gov
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs receives the request and transmits it to the Ministry of Government/Public Prosecutor and competent courts as required. Judicial review addresses treaty and legal requirements; the executive makes the surrender determination.
AUTHORITIESwww.organojudicial.gob.pawww.justice.gov
Habeas corpus and other constitutional/judicial remedies may challenge detention and surrender; the route depends on the issuing authority and stage.
AUTHORITIESwww.organojudicial.gob.pa
Panama has abolished the death penalty. A capital request requires assurances. Constitutional due process, physical integrity, health and non-refoulement protections may affect surrender.
AUTHORITIEShistory.state.govwww.congress.gov
No. A Red Notice is a request to locate and provisionally arrest, not an international arrest warrant or a judicial finding of extraditability. Domestic law and the treaty still control arrest and surrender.
AUTHORITIESwww.interpol.int
Yes in substance: surrender is for the offense(s) granted, subject to treaty consent/waiver rules.
AUTHORITIEShistory.state.govwww.congress.gov
No authoritative standard timeline found. Old-treaty document issues and constitutional litigation can materially affect duration.
AUTHORITIESwww.justice.govwww.justice.gov
10 · SOURCES
Every material claim should have a file behind it.
11 · REGIONAL INDEX
Related country files.
WHO REVIEWS THE FIRST CALL
Start with the paper, the posture, and the first deadline.
Todd A. Spodek leads the firm's federal defense work. The team identifies the active U.S. matter, the country and custody posture, and where appropriately licensed local counsel is required. No webpage can replace review of the actual request.
Todd Spodek - biography and record →SECURE CONSULTATION REQUEST
Put the actual extradition record in front of counsel.
Tell us whether this is an inquiry, Red Notice, detention, hearing, or appeal. The intake team will identify conflicts and the right next step. Urgent custody and hearing matters should call.
212 300 5196 - urgent matters →