Opinion ID: 2995261
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Vienna Convention

Text: Lastly, defendants, who are Mexican nationals, contend that the district court should have suppressed their post- arrest statements because the arresting officers did not comply with Article 36(1)(b) of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. Article 36(b)(1) requires authorities to inform a foreign national who is arrested or detained of his right to communicate with his home consulate. Although defendants recognize that this argument is foreclosed by our recent decisions in United States v. Lawal, 231 F.3d 1045, 1048 (7th Cir. 2000), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 121 S. Ct. 1165, 148 L. Ed. 2d 1024 (2001) (finding that the exclusionary rule is not a proper remedy for a violation of a detainee’s Article 36 rights), and United States v. Chaparro-Alcantara, 226 F.3d 616, 624-25 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, 531 U.S. 1026, 121 S. Ct. 599, 148 L. Ed. 2d 513 (2000) (same), they ask us to reconsider those decisions. We decline to do so; accordingly, we find that the district court did not err by admitting defendants’ post-arrest statements.