A Mexican soldier assigned to guard notorious drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman has been found murdered with signs of torture to his body.

Mexican police are now investigating in hopes of determining what came of 20-year-old guard Jorge Maurico Melendez Herrera, whose remains were discovered earlier this month.

Guzman is now being held at a maximum security prison in northern Mexico and authorities noted Melendez was part of the security detail assigned to guard the outside of the facility.

Guzman has Escaped Twice Before

Guzman has previously escaped from custody twice before and now faces possible extradition to the U.S. to face an array of drug trafficking related charges.

Guzman's most recent escape was pulled off after he dredged through an underground tunnel leading from his cell at the Altiplano prison. He was recaptured earlier this year and was recently moved from Altiplano to a facility on Ciudad Juarez, reported to be near the U.S. border.

Signs of Torture to the Body

Preliminary reports indicate Melendez died from a hit to the back of the neck. He had also been stabbed numerous times. As many as 300 soldiers have now been assigned to provide security around the prison.

Meanwhile, Mexican authorities are reported to have signed off on Guzman being extradited to the U.S., but attorneys for the reputed leader of the Sinaloa drug cartel are fighting the move.

U.S. authorities have previously expressed reservations about the Mexican government's ability to keep Guzman in custody. Eleven Mexican guards and other officials are now in prison and facing trials on charges they aided Guzman in his escape from Altiplano.

Earlier this month, a lawmaker from Sinaloa was stripped of her authority amid allegations that she was too closely linked to Guzman. Lucero Guadalupe Sanchez Lopez reportedly visited Guzman in prison prior to his 2015 escape and provided prison officials with a false identity in doing so.

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