Haven’t seen the sun in years
Drug boss “El Chapo” whines from US jail
He just wants to go home – to Mexico. The drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán has sent an “SOS” to Mexico’s head of state Andrés Manuel López Obrador because of his prison conditions in the USA.
Published: 3 minutes ago
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El Chapo is the founder of the Sinaloa drug cartel in Mexico. At one point he was considered one of the most wanted criminals in the world.
He is being held in one of the Colorado mountains, one of the most secure prisons in the United States. The Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán (65) is said to remain locked away there forever.
El Chapo is the founder of the Sinaloa drug cartel in Mexico. At one point he was considered one of the most wanted criminals in the world. In 2019, he was sentenced to life imprisonment by a New York court for drug trafficking, money laundering and weapons offenses, among other things.
The prison conditions in the USA are apparently too much for the once tough cartel boss. He sent an “SOS” to Mexico’s head of state Andrés Manuel López Obrador (69). “In the six years that Joaquín has been in the United States, he has not seen the sun,” said El Chapo’s Mexico-based attorney José Refugio Rodríguez. This affects the physical and mental health of “El Chapo”. When he was arrested in 2014, he stated that he had 2,000 to 3,000 people on his conscience.
President of Mexico checks El Chapo’s call for help
Attorney Rodríguez explained in an interview with Radio Formula that Guzmán was only allowed to leave his cell three times a week to move around a small area. He also gets fewer visits and phone calls than other inmates. His client suffers from “mental torment” because of the prison conditions, Rodríguez said on Radio Formula.
The drug lord’s call for help has apparently moved Mexico’s president. He has announced that he will examine El Chapo’s call for help. Above all, it is about human rights, said the head of state. “You always have to keep the door open when it comes to human rights,” he added, referring to El Chapo’s desire to return to Mexico.
Many dead in arrest
The 65-year-old’s son is also big in the drug business. Ovidio Guzmán, nicknamed “El Raton” (The Mouse), was arrested for the first time in Culiacan for the first time in October 2019. He was released after cartel members in Culiacan fought street battles with security forces. Several people were killed at the time, and public life came to a complete standstill.
He was arrested in Mexico in early January. According to the government, 29 people were killed during the arrest. Defense Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval (62) said the fatalities were ten military personnel and 19 “lawbreakers”. Ovidio Guzmán was arrested in northern Mexico, after which suspected members of Guzmán’s drug cartel fought fierce gun battles with security forces. The US has offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to his arrest.
Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard (63) ruled out a quick extradition of Ovidio Guzmán to the United States. The 32-year-old should be tried in Mexico. (AFP/jmh)