Latin America & Cross-Border

Mexico Practice

U.S.-Mexico cross-border practice: FCPA, asset recovery, extradition, and § 1782 proceedings conducted in Spanish.

Overview

Mexico is simultaneously one of the most important and most complex jurisdictions in the firm's Latin America practice. The U.S.-Mexico commercial relationship is among the largest bilateral trading relationships in the world. U.S. enforcement agencies (the DOJ, SEC, OFAC, and others) are active in Mexico-related matters involving corruption, narcotics trafficking proceeds, sanctions violations, and securities fraud. And U.S. courts handle a steady flow of extradition requests, § 1782 proceedings, and civil matters with Mexican counterparts.

The Oro Negro Drilling matter, where the firm filed a § 1782 petition to trace $27 million allegedly misappropriated from bondholders through offshore accounts in Mexico, with the underlying oil rigs operating for Pemex, is the clearest illustration of the firm's Mexico practice. The matter involves Mexican bankruptcy proceedings, assets tied to Pemex, and allegations touching multiple jurisdictions including Singapore and Norway. Daniel Fridman and Anel Viamontes conduct all Mexico-related work in Spanish.

Our Approach

Mexico-U.S. cross-border matters require understanding the interaction between two legal systems with different approaches to civil and criminal procedure, evidence, and enforcement. The Mexican criminal justice system underwent a major constitutional reform, adopted in 2008 and implemented nationwide by 2016, transitioning to an accusatorial model with oral hearings, and its relationship with U.S. enforcement agencies has evolved significantly in the same period.

We work with leading Mexico City criminal and commercial counsel on matters requiring Mexican court proceedings or regulatory interaction. For U.S. sides of cross-border matters, we bring full federal court capability.

Representative Experience

Latin America & Cross-Border

Oro Negro bondholders Section 1782 discovery
Represent Oro Negro bondholders in an active cross-border effort to trace at least $27 million diverted from special purpose vehicles that held bonds tied to Pemex oil drilling rigs off the coast of Mexico, using 28 U.S.C. Section 1782 to compel discovery in the United States, including discovery sought from opposing counsel Quinn Emanuel over roughly $8 million traceable to client accounts.
Cross-border internal investigations for multinationals
Led internal investigations in Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, and the United Kingdom for subsidiaries of publicly traded U.S. and European companies, addressing international corruption, accounting fraud, Bank Secrecy Act violations, AML compliance failures, and senior executive misconduct, and representing companies and audit committees before the SEC, the DOJ, and other agencies.
Mexican oil-drilling company internal investigation
Conducted an internal investigation of accounting and internal-control deficiencies at a Mexican oil-drilling company.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Treaty of Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters between the U.S. and Mexico?

The U.S.-Mexico MLAT provides a formal government-to-government channel for sharing evidence in criminal investigations. It is used by U.S. law enforcement to obtain evidence from Mexico and by Mexican authorities to obtain evidence from the United States. For private parties, § 1782 is often a faster and more flexible alternative to the MLAT process for obtaining U.S. discovery in support of Mexican proceedings.

How does U.S. extradition from Mexico work?

The U.S. and Mexico have a bilateral extradition treaty. Mexico has historically been one of the most active extradition partners of the United States; a significant number of high-profile extraditions to the U.S. have come from Mexico. Defense strategy in extradition proceedings from Mexico requires engagement with both U.S. federal extradition law and the Mexican legal process for opposing extradition.