In a surprise move, accused alleged drug lord Quirino Ernesto Paulino Castillo was sent back to the cells at the National Drug Control (DNCD) offices just hours after the Supreme Court Penal Chamber postponed the decision on his extradition to the United States until 18 February. Paulino Castillo is under indictment in the United States for money laundering and drug trafficking. The Listin Diario found out about the latest transfer of the most important prisoner in preventive custody from Paulino Castillo’s defense lawyer, Carlos Balcacer. The head of prisons, General Juan Ramon de la Cruz Martinez, subsequently confirmed this information. When General de la Cruz was questioned as to who had ordered Quirino’s transfer, he told reporters that the orders had come from the Attorney General, Francisco Dominguez Brito. The move came several hours after Quirino had been returned to his cell in Najayo prison’s special section for people awaiting extradition. Lawyer Felix Olivares told reporters that the move contravenes a judge’s order and a Penal Chamber decision, as well as an appeal granted by the Court of Appeals and a Supreme Court decision. Attorney General Francisco Dominguez Brito defended his actions by reminding reporters that the Justice Department has six months to investigate the case under the new Penal Code. Dominguez also said that the holding cell at the DNCD is “safer” than the special section at Najayo. Denying that his office had disobeyed a judicial order, Dominguez said that it was more practical to carry out investigations into the case with the prisoner at the DNCD offices. In today’s El Caribe, the Attorney General reveals that his office thinks that “international (drug) cartels” were planning to kill Paulino Castillo. Both the District Attorney for the National District and General de la Cruz approved the move made by the Attorney General. Even the Cardinal, Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez, said that he supported the Attorney General, now and “in the future.”