(Photo: El Salvador Judicial Centers)
(CNN Spanish) -
A court in El Salvador notified Armando Eliú Melgar Díaz, 30, that an extradition request from the United States exists against him.
Melgar is a leader of the criminal gang MS-13, according to the records of the National Civil Police.
The US justice demands Melgar Díaz for three life sentences for alleged crimes such as murder, terrorist financing, narco-terrorism and distribution or possession of cocaine and marijuana, according to a statement from the press office of the Judicial Center From El Salvador.
Melgar Díaz has not issued an opinion on the accusations in the US and the Salvadoran State must assign him a public defender for notifications in the extradition process.
"In these types of cases it is not necessary to appoint a defender because in the country (El Salvador) he is not accused of anything," Ulises Marinero, press officer of the Judicial Center, explained to CNN.
"The magistrates have up to a maximum of 60 days to resolve the petition," added Marinero.
Agents of the international police force Interpol detained the accused as he was leaving the maximum security prison in Zacatecoluca.
The prison is located in the department of La Paz, 62 kilometers from San Salvador.
Melgar Díaz was in prison on charges of belonging to illegal groups, but was acquitted by the Specialized Sentencing Court in the department of Santa Ana, 69 kilometers from the capital.
He had been detained in El Salvador after the US deported him three years ago.
According to the statement, the US must ratify the extradition request, which must be endorsed by the Supreme Court of El Salvador.
MS-13
