The Mexican President, Andres Manuel Lopez Obradorsaid this Wednesday that he will review a request from drug trafficker Joaquín “Chapo” Guzmán that he be allowed to serve his sentence in Mexico, alleging that he is suffering “psychological torment” in the US prison where he is being held.
(Also: The message that ‘Chapo’ Guzmán sent to President Amlo from jail)
“We’re going to check it out. [el pedido]. When it comes to human rights, there are ways and there are international instances,” said the leftist president at his usual press conference.
(You may not be interested in: The photo of the golden pistol that appeared after the capture of the son of ‘Chapo’)
López Obrador reported that the request, which was sent to the Mexican ambassador in Washington by the boss’s lawyer José Refugio Rodríguez, has already been received by the Mexican Foreign Ministry.
“There is nothing more to see (…) if we have the possibility of doing it, if we have the power to do it, but the door must always be left open when it comes to human rights,” added the president.
(Be sure to see: In photos: this is how the house was left where Ovidio Guzmán, son of ‘Chapo’, was captured)
López Obrador’s statement contradicts what was said on Tuesday by his foreign minister Marcelo Ebrard, who maintained that he saw no possibility of meeting the request since the former head of the Sinaloa cartel had already been sentenced in the United States.
Yes, we have the possibility to do it, if we have the power to do it, but the door must always be left open when it comes to human rights.
The lawyer Rodríguez confirmed this Wednesday to AFP that its objective is for Guzmán to “return to Mexico to be tried for the criminal proceedings that he has” pending and to serve his sentence in a local jail, in accordance with a prison agreement between Mexico and the United States.
He added that he will formally submit the written request to the Foreign Ministry “in the coming weeks”, but stressed that López Obrador “has already told us” that he will study the case.
(You can read: Ovidio Guzmán’s defense alleges that Chapo’s son suffers from anxiety and depression)
“We are going to submit everything to your consideration,” Rodríguez said.
He also explained to the local television station Milenio that The fact that Guzmán has escaped twice, in 2001 and 2015, from prisons in Mexico is not a “limiting factor” to request his transfer.
Rodríguez alleges that Guzmán suffers harsh prison conditions such as being isolated from other prisoners, not being able to communicate in Spanish and not having “seen the sun” in the six years he has been confined.
(Keep reading: How much power did Ovidio Guzmán and ‘Los Menores’ have in the Sinaloa cartel?)
“Chapo’s” request occurs after the Mexican authorities captured Ovidio Guzmán, one of his sons and heir to part of his criminal empire, on January 5 in an operation that left 29 dead.
Guzmán was found guilty in the United States of drug trafficking, money laundering and use of firearms. In July 2019, he was sentenced to life in prison, which he is serving at the ADX Florence maximum-security prison in the Colorado mountain desert.
AFP
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