SouthernWorldwide.com – Infamous drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman has penned letters from his U.S. supermax prison, voicing his strong objections to what he describes as “cruel punishment.” The incarcerated Mexican cartel leader is now pleading with U.S. court authorities for a transfer back to his native country.
Guzman, who was extradited to the United States in 2017 following two dramatic escapes from Mexican correctional facilities, is currently serving a life sentence. He is held in a maximum-security penitentiary located in Colorado, facing convictions on multiple serious charges, including drug trafficking and money laundering.
AFP has reviewed three letters authored by Guzman, the co-founder of the notorious Sinaloa cartel, all of which were officially filed on Monday. CBS News has also acquired one of these letters, which exhibits grammatically incorrect English.
“This is a polite letter (about) the hardcore evidence that wasn’t proven for my case,” Guzman stated in a letter dated April 23. He directed this particular correspondence to the Eastern District Court of New York.
In his communication, Guzman formally requested that the authorities acknowledge his “rights to be request back (sic) to my country.” However, the letters do not explicitly detail whether his request is specifically for the remainder of his sentence to be served in Mexico.
Another letter, dated April 20, expresses Guzman’s frustration that his requests for the specific documents that formed the basis of his sentencing have gone unanswered. He asserts that these documents would not serve to justify what he perceives as his “cruel punishment.”
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“The verdict of my trial wasn’t fair,” Guzman declared in the letter, further questioning the fairness of his legal proceedings. He also mentioned that he has been awaiting an appeal for three years and invoked the protections afforded by the “first to the fifth amendment.”
This is not the first time the former cartel kingpin has voiced his complaints from behind bars. In previous prison letters, Guzman has repeatedly detailed his experiences with extreme isolation, the substandard conditions within his cell, and the severe lack of family visits.
As recently as 2023, the founder of the Sinaloa cartel made an appeal to then-President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, seeking his assistance due to what Guzman described as “psychological torment” he was enduring in prison.
El Chapo is currently incarcerated at the ADX Florence, often referred to as the “Supermax” prison, situated in Florence, Colorado. This facility is renowned for housing some of America’s most dangerous and high-profile inmates.
Among the notorious individuals held at ADX Florence are Ted Kaczynski, known as the Unabomber; Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the Boston Marathon bomber; Zacarias Moussaoui, a conspirator in the 9/11 attacks; and Terry Nichols, an accomplice in the Oklahoma City bombing. The prison’s extreme security measures, remote location, and austere environment have earned it the grim nickname “the Alcatraz of the Rockies.”
In related developments, just last month, Mexican soldiers successfully apprehended three of the closest allies of El Chapo’s brother. This significant operation was reportedly supported by U.S. intelligence. El Chapo’s brother, Aureliano Guzman Loera, widely known by his alias “El Guano,” remains a fugitive with a substantial U.S. bounty of $5 million placed on his head.
