Alleged drug baron sets record in canceled extradition hearings

Santo Domingo.- Alleged drug baron Ramon Antonio del Rosario Puente (Toño Leña) on Monday again dismissed a Supreme Court (SCJ) assigned defense lawyer, his new attorney revealed today.

Pedro Duarte Canaán said he’ll now head the defense of del Rosario, now being held in Najayo Prison’s block for extraditables, and who’s wanted in the United States on drug trafficking and money laundering chares.

He said the accused fired the public defender Alexis Miguel Arias on Friday, claiming indifference in the hearing in the SCJ. He said he’ll take around 30 days to prepare a defense, and noted that his client has been diagnosed with hemorrhoids

Today’s extradition hearing is the 10th time del Rosario maneuvers for postponement, breaking the record set in the case against ex Army captain Quirino Paulino and Bienvenido Ernesto Guevara “Maconi,” both extradited to the U.S. on drug trafficking charges.