Ecuador demands return of “kidnapped” inmate

Ecuadorian officials have sought the return of a businessman currently on death row in Florida.

66-year-old ex-businessman Nelson Serrano was convicted and received the death penalty for the murders of four people in 1997. Ecuador has no death penalty yet the problem is not his punishment, according to Deputy Ecuadorean Interior Minister Franco Sanchez. Rather, the point of contention is over Serrano’s arrest which occurred while he was living in Ecuador:

"The issue is not his guilt or innocence," said Deputy Ecuadorean Interior Minister Franco Sanchez. "This is called a kidnapping, not an arrest"…

Ecuador maintains Florida officials bribed police there to help capture Serrano, and that he was kept overnight at the Quito airport in a dog kennel to avoid detection. They also say he was beaten so badly a flight attendant tried to stop him from boarding the plane until an assistant state attorney and a law enforcement agent from Florida intervened.

The allegations on Serrano’s alleged mistreatment were denied by Floridian authorities. "We made sure we did everything by the book once we got there…We didn't want anything to go wrong," said Florida Department of Law Enforcement agent Tommy Ray. Ray admitted that $300 was paid to Ecuadorian police in Serrano’s arrest but claimed that it was a “reimbursement” rather than bribery.

Image- AP (“Francisco Serrano, son of Nelson Serrano, who was convicted in Florida of first degree murder in 2007, speaks at a news conference Monday, April 6, 2009 in Miami.”)
Online Sources- The Ledger, miamiherald.com, The Latin Americanist

Ecuador demands return of citizen on death row

Recently we mentioned the legal brouhaha between the U.S. and Mexico over the execution of Jose Medellin. Another judicial row may develop between the U.S. and Ecuador over a man named Nelson Serrano.

Originally from Ecuador, the 66-year-old ex-businessman has been on death row in Florida after being convicted for killing four people. Yesterday the Ecuadorian government hired attorneys to see if Serrano could return to his native land. The reasoning behind it seemed rather peculiar:

Serrano, a dual Ecuadorean and U.S. citizen, was arrested by Ecuadorean officials and then deported in 2002 at the request of the U.S., a move the current government says was unconstitutional and illegal.

An Ecuadorean official concluded at the time that Serrano had repeatedly entered the country under his U.S. passport and was an American eligible for deportation.

The United States' only legal route to removing Serrano from his home country was through extradition, Interior Minister Fernando Bustamante said Thursday.

It’s unknown what Serrano’s legal status would be should he return to Ecuador; he may face judicial proceedings or even be freed. Thus, odds are U.S. authorities will very reluctant to hand over Serrano.

Image- MSNBC
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, El Universo, El Telegrafo, IHT