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“TIME IS UP FOR MEXICO TO RETURN ACCUSED KILLER” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H4712-H4713 on June 22, 1999.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
TIME IS UP FOR MEXICO TO RETURN ACCUSED KILLER
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Miller) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to update the House on a situation of grave concern to me and to the constituents in my district.
It has been 19 months since 13-year-old Stevie Bellush came home from school to find her mother's body on the kitchen floor.
Sheila Bellush, a young, vibrant 35-year-old and mother of six, had been shot in the face and her throat had been slashed. Her 2-year-old quadruplets were crawling in her blood next to her body. At that moment, it would have seemed inconceivable that the drama had only begun as the case turned into a national nightmare for our Sarasota community.
An overwhelming trail of evidence immediately led to Jose Luis Del Toro, who allegedly killed Sheila in a murder-for-hire scheme. Del Toro fled to Mexico, where he was arrested on November 20, 1997, 19 months ago, and he remains in Mexican prison.
Del Toro is a U.S. citizen born and raised in Texas. His parents are U.S. citizens. Mr. Del Toro is accused of driving from San Antonio, Texas, to Sarasota, Florida, to commit a murder, driving back to San Antonio, and then crossing the Mexican border to escape justice in this country. He had entered Mexico illegally and he was scheduled for deportation 2 days after his arrest in November of 1997. At the last hour, as border patrol agents in Texas were awaiting Del Toro's arrival at the border to take him into custody, Sarasota State attorney, Earl Moreland, received a phone call from officials at the Department of Justice who informed him that Del Toro's deportation had been canceled and that the United States will have to file a formal extradition request.
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No reason was given for this change. Then the Department of Justice delivered a startling and dismal message. The State Attorney's office would have to waive the death penalty in order to obtain Del Toro's return. It was a difficult decision, but Mexican demands were agreed to in the hope that Del Toro would at least return to Florida to serve a life sentence. Nineteen months later, he has still not returned.
Tomorrow morning, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica) will hold a hearing on this case in the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources of the Committee on Government Reform. This hearing is another important step in keeping the pressure on Mexico to return fugitives like Del Toro to the United States. Pressure needs to be applied not only to Mexico but to the administration as well to renegotiate our extradition treaty with Mexico to prevent other U.S. fugitives from escaping justice by merely walking across the border. Mexico should not be a haven for murderers. This is a case where a U.S. citizen was murdered, the accused is a U.S. citizen, Mexico has nothing to do with the case, and Del Toro should be promptly returned to this country so justice can be served. I greatly appreciate the gentleman from Florida having this hearing tomorrow.
As the old saying goes, justice delayed is justice denied, and I will not stand by quietly as justice is denied to my congressional district by a foreign entity who should have no interest in this case. Today's editorial page in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reads, ``Time's Up for Mexico.'' It begins, ``The reasons for Mexico to extradite murder suspect Jose Luis Del Toro Jr. will be the same tomorrow as they were a year ago. The only difference is that Mexico can no longer cite the need for time as its inexcusable refusal to send Del Toro to trial in the United States.'' I could not agree more. I am here today on the floor of the House to say, ``Mexico, your time is up. Send back Del Toro.''
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