A Mexican court blocked the extradition of a man wanted...

A Mexican court blocked the extradition of a man wanted in the 1994 murder of an American drug agent because the U.S. government refused to give assurances that the man would not face life imprisonment.
Agustin Vazquez Mendoza - one of the most-wanted men in the United States - is at the centre of a disagreement over a 1978 extradition treaty that threatens to create a diplomatic impasse.
In a landmark ruling in 2001, Mexico's Supreme Court said for the first time that citizens could be extradited as long as potential punishment did not include life prison terms or the death penalty.Mexican law has no provisions for either penalty.
This week's ruling by a federal court in Mexico City "is a conditional stay [of extradition] that would be resolved if the Foreign Ministry notifies the court that those conditions on life imprisonment or capital punishment had been satisfied," a Supreme Court official said.