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Mexico Considers ‘El Chapo’ Request

Mexico
Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman | Image by CNN

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said he is considering an extradition request from Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán that would return the infamous drug trafficker to a prison in his home country. 

Guzmán sent the request from his cell, where he is serving a life sentence in the ADX maximum security prison in Florence, Colorado. 

The former drug kingpin claimed he is being subjected to “cruel and unfair” conditions in prison.

His request was relayed through a member of his U.S. legal team before being made public in a radio interview by his legal representative in Mexico, José Refugio Rodríguez.

“Joaquín asked me through verbal messages to fight for his return to Mexico,” Rodriguez said during an interview with Mexican outlet Radio Formula. “I see it as an SOS… he is hurting from a trial that was not in accordance with due process.”

Rodríguez referred to Guzmán’s prison treatment as “psychological torture.”

“He doesn’t see the sun, the food is of very bad quality, there is no healthcare; he had a problem with his molars and instead of treating them, they took them out so he wouldn’t fuss,” Rodríguez said.

Guzmán’s lawyer further claimed that the convicted cartel leader is kept in isolation, prohibited from speaking Spanish, and has had limited opportunities to talk with his lawyers and family, only making only six or seven calls since March 2022. 

Rodríguez added that Guzmán believes his human rights were violated during the extradition process, as he was denied the chance to defend himself in Mexico. 

In addition, he claimed that Mexican authorities had failed to honor a legal obligation to review Guzmán’s situation in Colorado every six months.

The Mexican Embassy in Washington said on its Twitter account that it had received an email from Rodríguez about the issue and had turned it over to Mexico’s Foreign Relations Department.

President Obrador said, “we will review it,” adding: “You always have to keep the door open when it comes to human rights.”

The U.S. and Mexico have a prison transfer agreement allowing inmates convicted in one country to serve their sentence in their home country under certain circumstances. But given Guzmán’s crimes, sentence, and the risks he purportedly still poses, it is unknown whether the agreement will be used in this case. 

“El Chapo” was the longtime head of the multibillion-dollar Sinaloa drug cartel responsible for smuggling mountains of cocaine and other drugs into the U.S. 

After two dramatic prison escapes in Mexico, Guzmán was extradited to the U.S. in 2017.

He was convicted in New York on February 12, 2019, on numerous charges, including drug trafficking, organized crime, money laundering, and homicide, and given a life sentence.

Guzmán’s request to be returned to Mexico comes after his oldest son, Ovidio Guzmán-Lopez, was jailed in a maximum-security prison in Mexico and his arrest triggered an outbreak of gang violence, as reported by The Dallas Express

Nicknamed “El Raton” or “The Mouse,” the younger Guzmán, 32, is believed to have been among those who took over the reins of his father’s drug empire.

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26 Comments

  1. Anna

    Get this

    Reply
  2. pat

    Already escaped twice from Mexican jails and now that his son has been captured, he’s at risk of losing his drug empire. Biden traded a women basketball player for the worlds most wanted Russian arms dealer, mass murdered and assassin that the weapons he sold to our enemies were responsible for killing Americans (shameful). It took the US many years and millions of taxpayer dollars to capture high profile international killer and he just let him go. Let’s hope someone in the Biden administration come to their senses on this request.

    Reply
    • CW

      Biden has nothing to do with El Chapo. Not sure why the situation of Brittany Garner was even commented under this story. Let it go and stick to the topic at hand.

      Reply
  3. Anna

    OMGosh surly the United States would never release this monster back to Mexico where his drug cartel could break him out of prison so he could continue to supply the US with illegal drugs!! He was able to escape from the prison in Mexico more than once!!

    Reply
    • Monte Mcdearmon

      if our country will trade an arms dealer that wanted to kill AMERICANS for a LOUSY basketball player EL CHAPO START PACKING BAGS!!!!!

      Reply
      • Cwi

        He is a prisoner in COLORADO. Therefore any decisions of being extradited to Mexico would fall on the states legislator NOT the POTUS.

        Reply
        • Skip

          Guzman is held in a Federal prison located in Florence Colorado not in a state prison

          Reply
    • Ryan

      Just so ya know we still getting high with the mexican sypply cuz they arent the problem all of us keeping the demand so high for these drugs as me being a user o say free the lord hinself either way fentanyl is here to stay so get over it

      Reply
      • Loris

        No way return him to Mexico
        He should be 6 feet under
        His drugs have killed thousands his orders have killed hundreds more
        When is enough Enough
        Only way he goes back to tMexico is in a box or urn

        Reply
        • Josie

          They buy those drugs willingly nobody makes them

          Reply
      • Buddy Schmidt

        Yes set El Chapo free everyone thinks he’s a monster or some evil person but hey that man gave the homeless $$$ fed them n made Christmas happen for ppl that weren’t able to provide Christmas for they family so not only ppl should ppl look at the wrongs n bad look at the rights n good GUZMAN HAD DONE ALSO

        Reply
        • Micaela

          Exactly! Since he’s been gone there has been more violence and other groups are coming to power that do kill innocents! Chapo has never sanctioned the killings of innocent people. But these other groups gaining power don’t care about anybody! #FREECHAPOGUZMAN

          Reply
        • Celestina H

          He did what the Mexican government didn’t do for his people.

          Reply
        • Manny

          He’s a Mexican Robin Hood

          Reply
    • Anthony Garcia

      Our own government allows drug flow into the US. No drugs no jobs !

      Reply
    • Micaela

      They need to have him out without Chapo in power, there’s more violence and will be more ruthless killings of innocent people by other cartel groups that don’t give a fk about anybody. Chapo was all about business not killing innocents! SEND HIM BACK!

      Reply
  4. Djea3

    “Cruel and unfair” means that he doesn’t have his concubine, drugs, communications network, lobster dinners and large screen TV etc available 24/7. He just can’t live that way and can’t run his drug enterprise in a US prison.

    I say leave him where he is until he dies. Within a couple of years he will be hopefully irrelevant to society in any way and his sone will have been arrested as well.

    If he is sent to Mexico, two things will happen. 1. He will live as if in a resort while in prison and pay all the guards to work for him 2.He will RUN HIS DRUG ENTERPRISE from his very own jail with impunity.

    Even the street cops were crooked in Mexico City when I was there over 40 years ago. I do not suppose that the “mordida (bribe money)” has changed except to be more expensive than 40 years ago.

    Reply
  5. Psoma Chinn

    Lets hope they put El Chapo back in Mexico, Has anyone bought drugs recently they’re super expensive! With El Chapo back in charge prices will go down & quality will go up. 2 great reasons to send shorty back to Sinaloa.

    Reply
  6. Noneyo

    He can forget about life because the USA don’t care about him he will die on us soil

    Reply
  7. Anthony Garcia

    Let Chapo go home to Mexico!! The USA used him as a scapegoat bcuz that’s how the government works . He was railroaded and being treated like an animal .

    Reply
  8. Samantha

    I believe that chapel should have the right just like any other citizen or human being to be extradited back to his home for Americans are treating him unfair that is cruel and unusual punishment although he is a drug Pusher and he has been found guilty in several homicides I’m sure the homicides of the people were not all innocent people everybody plays a part in this game I don’t see why he’s the only one to have to suffer he should be able to go back home to his home where his family is like any other person that is in prison they see visitation they talk to their family members they see Sunshine they get decent food and he is not being given either of those things that is cruel and unusual punishment therefore if we’re going to do him like that there were no better than he is so ask yourself who is who in that situation really

    Reply
    • pat

      Wow some people on this thread have taken to many el chapo drugs.

      Railroaded – US convicted him for the same crimes he was convicted for in Mexico.

      No incidents killed — Many incident people have been killed in collateral damage especially in the street bombing order by el chapo. Let alone the many killings of rivals and their families.

      “Family is like any other person” – His son has just been captured and charged with the same crimes as his father. Yes, most families generally have family and relatives involved in drug trafficking and killings.

      El chapo the Robin Hood of drug lords – Here’s some Christmas presents sorry I killed some of your family members.

      Inhuman conditions – It’s the same conditions murdering people that are in isolation for theirs’s and everyone else’s protection get. He’s a criminal in a high security prison where he can’t bribe anyone to get preferential treatment like he could in Mexico. How sad.

      He’s lucky he didn’t get a death sentence.

      Reply
  9. Samantha

    And another thing is most Americans are addicted to something in the United States whether it be drugs alcohol sex food or what have it he couldn’t have become a multi-billionaire if people weren’t buying it from him remember that he wasn’t in that game alone anybody can claim to be a drug dealer but it takes people to be customers to buy from him to make him what he is and since all of it was being transported into the US maybe that you need to take a look at our country take a look at our country and where all this money is coming from is from us we made him what he is today that’s what needs to be looked upon he is only one man he couldn’t do this by himself and he didn’t do it by himself but he is a human being people don’t want to look at the whole situation because if they do then they’ll realize that El Chapo is not in this alone El Chapo and all of his buyers should be locked up also but no it’s just him he was just a smart one he’s the one who sold it the idiots are the one that bought it

    Reply
  10. Celestina H

    Cruel and unfair practices is a good reason. There should be no reason anyone should go through that emotional torture.

    Reply
  11. Feed up with crime

    He Deserves the same human rights he gave to his victims who are no longer here to complain

    Reply
  12. John Gault

    Treated unfairly compared to what? Its prison, its not supposed to nice. Maybe he should ask for gender reassignment surgery as a means to return to Mexico. He would stand more of a chance of getting the surgery than being released to Mexico but at least he would have a nice cell to recover in for a while. I guess he would have to come up with a new more feminine sounding name. Maybe Latinx Chappo? Get with the times pal.

    Reply

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