Drug Kingpin El Chapo Seeks Mexico Return; President 'Will Review It'
Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Wednesday that his country would review a request from drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman to be transferred to Mexico probably to serve his sentence.
El Chapo, 64, was given a life sentence in the U.S. for his role in a drug scheme that caused widespread violence over twenty years.
A Mexican attorney named José Refugio Rodrguez claims to represent El Chapo and alleges that his client has been living in substandard prison conditions since his conviction in 2019.
According to Rodriguez's statements to the local media, his client has been denied proper amounts of sunlight, visitors, nutritious food, and medical attention.
According to a tweet from the Mexican Embassy in Washington, they had received an email from Rodrguez about the matter. They had forwarded it to Mexico's Foreign Relations Department.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said, "we will review it," adding, "You always have to keep the door open when it comes to human rights," AP noted.
A prisoner convicted in the United States may be transferred to Mexico to complete their sentence under the terms of an agreement between the two countries penal systems.
READ NEXT: El Chapo Son's Death
El Chapo Mexico Return Request
Due to the "cruel and unfair" treatment, he is receiving in the United States, former cartel kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman has made a passionate appeal to be returned to Mexico to serve his sentence.
After years at the helm of Mexico's most powerful organized crime gang, the Sinaloa Cartel, El Chapo was found guilty of drug trafficking, money laundering, and murder in 2019.
He is serving his life sentence at the ADX Florence Supermax prison in Colorado, along with some of the most dangerous criminals in the United States, says the Independent.
Given the gravity of Guzman's crimes, his ties to the Mexican government and security agencies, and the possibility that he could escape, it is hard to imagine the U.S. agreeing to such a bargain.
El Chapo's Case
The Sinaloa Cartel is still one of the world's most feared and successful drug cartels.
The Mexican drug cartel used assassinations, killings, and torture to safeguard its territory.
El Chapo created the organization in the late '80s. In 1993, the Mexican drug lord was apprehended and given a prison term of over 20 years.
The notorious Mexican drug lord El Chapo escaped in 2001 but was recaptured in 2014 in Sinaloa.
The following year, the head of the Sinaloa Cartel used a tunnel to break out of prison again.
Officials in Mexico announced that El Chapo had been apprehended once more in January 2016. After a year, he was finally extradited to the United States.
El Chapo was accused of illegally bringing millions of kilograms of cocaine, as well as large amounts of heroin and marijuana, into the United States from Mexico.
After El Chapo had his petition for a new trial denied in January 2022, the federal appeals court in New York maintained his life sentence.
The three-judge panel ruled against El Chapo on several counts, including claims of jury bias, "deplorable" prison conditions, and the United States government's selective prosecution of him.
Meanwhile, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, his eldest detained son, was transferred to a maximum-security Mexican prison earlier this month after his capture sparked a wave of gang violence, according to New York Post.
The younger Guzman, now 32 years old, is known by his nickname "El Raton," or "The Mouse," and is thought to be one who gained control of his father's drug empire.
READ MORE: Missing Illinois Woman Cheyann Klus
This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Bert Hoover
WATCH: El Chapo's Supermax Prison Is Worse Than You Think - From DeathDoor