MEXICO CITY (AFP) – Notorious drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman has appealed to Mexico’s president for help due to alleged “psychological torment” he is suffering in a United States (US) prison, his lawyer said on Tuesday.
“In the six years that Joaquin has been in the US, he has not seen the sun,” said a Mexico-based legal representative of the Sinaloa cartel founde Jose Refugio Rodriguez.
The message, described as “an SOS”, was transmitted via one of Guzman’s lawyers in the US as well as his family, Rodriguez said.
Guzman is only allowed outside three times a week to a small area where he “doesn’t get the sun”, and has fewer visits or phone calls than other inmates, the lawyer said in an interview with Radio Formula.
“He is suffering psychological torment,” he said, adding that the lack of sunshine was also bad for the convicted drug trafficker’s physical health.
Guzman wants President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to address alleged procedural violations during his extradition in 2017 under the former government, Rodriguez added.
The Mexican embassy in Washington confirmed on Twitter on Tuesday that it received an e-mail from Rodríguez on January 10.
Without referring to the content of the email, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard downplayed the chance of any government intercession in favour of the notorious drug trafficker.
El Chapo is serving a life sentence in the US after being convicted in 2019 of charges including drug trafficking, money laundering and weapons-related offences.
One of his sons, Ovidio Guzman, was arrested by Mexican security forces this month in an operation that left 29 people dead and sparked a dramatic shootout at an airport in the city of Culiacan.
