On Monday, January 4, a magistrates’ court in London rejected the extradition request made by the United States for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. In a narrow ruling, District Judge Vanessa Baraitser determined that the “harsh conditions” imposed by the American penal system would cause Assange’s mental health to deteriorate and very likely lead to suicide, making an extradition order “oppressive.” Although welcome in its refusal to hand Assange over to the United States, the ruling accepted all of the Trump administration’s main legal arguments for extradition, thus condoning, or even strengthening, future attacks on press freedom.

That same day, at his morning press conference, Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) began by classifying the UK decision as a “triumph of justice.” He then continued:

I am going to ask the Foreign Secretary to . . . request from the UK government the possibility of Mr. Assange being freed and for Mexico to offer him political asylum. With everything that the right of asylum means in our tradition which is protection but, at the same time, the responsibility of ensuring that the recipient does not intervene in the political matters of any country. We would be in conditions to offer this asylum. . . .  So, a pardon for Mr. Assange and asylum in Mexico.