El Chapo plays his last cards from prison: ‘The inefficiency of my lawyers cost me my freedom’ | US

“I have been extradited to the United States for more than seven years and to this day I have not seen the sun.” This is how one of the handwritten letters begins Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmánsent from the maximum security prison in Florence, Colorado, where he is serving a life sentence after his conviction in 2019. The 67-year-old – one of the most notorious criminals in the world – has repeatedly expressed his grievances about his treatment by US authorities, describing the conditions of his confinement as ‘great torture, 24 hours a day’.

Frustrated that his requests were not being met, the founder of the Sinaloa Cartel turned his back on his lawyers and has been representing himself from prison since January. “They had the evidence they needed to confront the authorities, but they didn’t do it and that made them very inefficient,” he says. Unable to speak or write in English, El Chapo relies on one of his lawyers to translate and transcribe his dictated messages in a desperate attempt to improve his life behind bars and push for a new trial. “That inefficiency cost Guzmán his freedom,” says the drug trafficker, speaking in the third person, who now acts as his legal representative.

El Chapo sent hundreds of pages of letters from prison. Sometimes he petitions the prison system for extra time out of his cell, more visitation rights for his wife Emma Coronel and their two 13-year-old daughters, or access to materials and English lessons. At other times, he painstakingly examines testimony from former associates who testified against him, distancing himself from allies and past accusations as he urges an appeals court to reconsider his case. He also sent letters to Judge Brian Cogan, who sentenced him to life in prison and asked for leniency. Before taking up his own defense, he complained last year that important documents were being withheld and even wrote to then-President of Mexico Andrés Manuel López Obradorto ask for his help.

In his latest series of letters, Guzmán challenges the credibility of Vicente “Vicentillo” Zambadason of his main partner Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and the “number one witness” of the United States. “He (himself) said in court that the governments of Mexico and the United States campaigned against Guzmán to inflate his image and then overthrow him,” Guzmán said. “(There is) too much politics in my case. I ask you to please base this on Guzmán’s behavior and not on what the media says,” he pleads. “There is no justification for holding me in these cruel and inhumane conditions,” he wrote to the director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) earlier this year.

However, US authorities fear that El Chapo could escape, given the two of them infamous prison outbreaks in Mexico. The most recent, from 2015, involved a kilometer long tunnel built by his associates beneath the high-security El Altiplano prison, complete with lighting, ventilation and space for Guzmán to escape on a motorcycle. Now Guzmán spends just three hours a week outside his cell, has no contact with other prisoners or guards except during brief, handcuffed transfers, and his phone calls, letters and visits are tightly controlled. Determined to avoid any risk, Washington has maintained these strict restrictions. Since it opened in 1994, no one has ever escaped from Florence, also known as the Alcatraz of the Rockies.

“At night I put earplugs in my ears to sleep and for my nasal allergies I buy medicine here at the police station, but that is of no use to me,” El Chapo said of his health. Guzmán has reported that his health problems – depression, headaches and memory loss – have worsened and has sought treatment from a specialist. He says he is allowed monthly calls to his daughters and a sister, although he claims there have been periods of more than six months without any contact and that he has applied for visitation rights for his wife.

“I am writing to you in the most respectful manner. My apologies for bothering you again with my previous request regarding my wife. Emma Coronel,” he wrote to Judge Cogan in April. “My wife is in California and can visit me often,” he added, emphasizing, “She is the only person in my family who can visit me.” However, the judge denied his request, stating that his court “does not have the authority” to change the visitation restrictions. Undeterred, Guzmán continued to send letters to everyone involved in his case.

El Chapo – who was convicted of running an ongoing criminal enterprise, conspiracy to launder money and multiple drug trafficking charges – has some access to the outside world. He can watch the news on two Spanish-language channels. “I see President Biden (…) often speaking against discrimination and racism,” he notes. “I’m sure you think like him, like a human being. If not, the president would not want you in his cabinet, and I ask you a big favor to help me,” pleads Guzmán.

On July 25, the US announced the capture of El Mayo and Joaquín Guzmán López, El Chapo’s son. Reports indicate that Guzmán is aware of recent events, including the ongoing conflict between the faction of his sons, Los Chapitos, and the faction of his former allies, Los Mayos.

Earlier in July, weeks before the events that reshaped Sinaloa, El Chapo filed a thirteen-page document with Judge Cogan demanding that his sentence be overturned. “The law should apply equally to everyone in this country, regardless of race or nationality, or even if the case is politically charged, like mine,” he argues. He claims his trial was rife with “inconsistencies,” claiming prosecutors forced witnesses to “lie” and that his defense was ineffective, labeling his lawyers as “inefficient” 65 times.

In the same document, he denies any alliance with Zambada, claiming: “It is clear that there was no partnership between El Mayo and Guzmán.” He also denies starting a conflict with the Juárez cartel and claims he has been “wrongly blamed” for the murder of Cardinal Juan Jesús Posadas. Furthermore, he dismisses testimony from Vicentillo and nearly a dozen other figures, such as his Chicago associates Pedro and Margarito Flores and Colombian human trafficker Juan Carlos “Chupeta” Ramírez, calling them “liars.”

El Chapo – the drug lord once branded ‘public enemy number one’ in Chicago, the mastermind of immense tunnels, the feared king once considered untouchable – insists his criminal reputation is exaggerated. But after a three-month trial, the jury did not accept his claims, and no authority has questioned the verdict that sealed his fate.

Three weeks after the capture of El Mayo and his son in mid-August, Guzmán formally renewed his appeal to an appeals court. His first attempt was rejected in 2022. The last document he submitted was made public last week, a day before Judge Cogan sentenced Genaro García Luna, the former Mexican minister of public security who had worked with the Sinaloa cartel for more than two decades.

In his filing, Guzmán outlines several reasons for demanding a new trial: he claims his extradition was “illegal,” arguing that he should have been tried in other U.S. states that had charges against him; he criticizes the “excessive” restrictions during his captivity in New York; he claims critical evidence was excluded from the trial; he accuses the prosecution of misconduct; and he questions the competence of his own defense team. However, the appeals court denied his request last Tuesday, citing errors in the filing process and late filing. “I went straight to the Supreme Court,” Guzmán explained of the delay, “but no one listened to me.”

A day before his latest appeal was rejected, his son Ovidio Guzmán, known as “El Ratón,” appeared in a Chicago courtroom for the second time. It was his first appearance since the high-profile capture of El Mayo. After the hearing, it was revealed that Ovidio and Joaquín Guzmán, sons from Guzmán’s second marriage, is considering a plea dealwhich could allow them to avoid a lawsuit.

Meanwhile, the battle between the warring factions of the Sinaloa Cartel plunges the state into chaos accusations of treason continue to loom over the latter American blow against the Mexican cartelsEl Chapo – now prisoner 89914-053 – plays his last cards alone as he faces both his fate and his legacy from behind bars.

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