El Chapo’s Lawyer: Restrictive U.S. Prison Conditions Will Prevent a Fair Trial

El Chapo's Defense Lawyer Complaining About Her Clients' U.S. Prison Conditions

Joaquín Guzmán, also known as 'El Chapo,' is transported to Maximum Security Prison of El Altiplano in Mexico City, Mexico on January 08, 2016. Guzmán, leader of Mexico's Sinaloa drug Cartel, was considered the Mexican most-wanted drug lord. Mexican marines captured 'El Chapo' on Friday in Sinaloa, North of Mexico. (Daniel Cardenas/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

By Will Levith
Infamous drug kingpin Joaquín Guzmán, also known as ‘El Chapo,’ being transported to prison. (Daniel Cardenas/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

 

One drug kingpin, Pablo Escobar, was well known for having lived in the lap of luxury while in prison. The same cannot be said for notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, who once sat atop the world’s “10 Most Wanted” list and who has a knack for escaping.

For that reason, per Reuters, El Chapo is currently incarcerated in a New York City jail with a 23-hour-lighted cell, with just an hour allotted for exercise and no contact allowed with his wife or family. But according to Guzmán’s attorney, these austere restrictions are preventing him from mounting a fair defense for El Chapo.

Amnesty International has also gotten involved, demanding access to his El Chapo’s cell to review its conditions. “Mr. Guzman is being held under the worst, most restrictive conditions of any prisoner currently detained by the United States government,” his public defender was quoted as saying in the report.

The harsh measures are apparently preventative, since the kingpin is a major flight risk. He gained worldwide renown for escaping from a pair of Mexican prisons, and is at the center of one of the deadliest drug cartels in the world.

Below, take a tour of one of the  tunnels El Chapo used in a previous escape from a Mexican prison, courtesy of Vice News.

 

—RealClearLife

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