A legal expert has dismissed the notion that U.S. President Donald Trump could or should extradite American rapper Wiz Khalifa to Romania to serve a nine-month prison sentence over a drug conviction as “absurd.”
Background: Romanian Sentence
Romania’s Constanța Court of Appeal recently upheld a nine-month prison sentence for Khalifa (real name Cameron Jibril Thomaz) after finding him guilty of possessing and using cannabis at a music festival in July 2024.
Possession of cannabis remains illegal in Romania, and the sentence was increased on appeal from an earlier fine.
Local police have indicated that a mandate for international pursuit and cooperation with U.S. authorities may be pursued, raising questions about whether Khalifa could be extradited.
Expert Opinion: Extradition Unlikely and ‘Absurd’
Romanian criminologist Vlad Zaha told reporters that the idea of extraditing a Black American for cannabis — a substance decriminalized or legal in many U.S. states — would be both politically and socially absurd.
He noted that Trump’s policy focus does not target cannabis and that the U.S. has limited incentive to surrender citizenship holders for such an offense.
Zaha also suggested that Romania lacks the diplomatic leverage needed to successfully compel the United States to extradite a wealthy, well-connected American citizen.
Legal and Practical Challenges
Legal analysts say the logistics of enforcing the Romanian sentence against Khalifa are complex.
Since he is not physically in Romania and does not reside there, any attempt at extradition would require formal judicial cooperation between countries — and even then, it does not guarantee that U.S. courts would comply.
What’s Next
As of now, it’s not clear whether Romanian authorities will formally request Khalifa’s extradition.
Even if they do, experts believe that such a request faces major legal and political obstacles, making the scenario highly unlikely.
