Mexican judge says El Chapo can be extradited to US to face drug charges

MEXICO CITY — A Mexican judge says the extradition of drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman can move ahead, but the country’s foreign ministry must still approve it and the defense can appeal.

The federal Judiciary Council said Monday the judge had agreed that the legal requirements laid out in the extradition treaty between the two countries had been met. The judge was not named.

The council oversees Mexico’s federal judges and tribunals.

The ministry has 20 days to decide whether to approve Guzman’s extradition to the United States.

Any extradition attempt can be delayed or stopped by a request to the court by attorneys for the Sinaloa cartel leader.

Guzman was moved Saturday from a prison outside Mexico City to one in Ciudad Juarez near the U.S. border.