Notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán is making headlines once again, but this time it’s not for his criminal activities. The convicted drug kingpin is claiming that he is being denied phone calls and visits in the maximum security U.S. prison where he is serving a life sentence.
In a letter penned to District Court Judge Brian M. Cogan in the Eastern District of New York, El Chapo expressed his frustration at not being able to communicate with his twin daughters for seven months. He pleaded for authorization for his daughters to visit him, stating that they can only visit during school breaks as they are studying in Mexico.
El Chapo described the lack of communication as “unprecedented discrimination” against him, claiming that the prison staff had stopped giving him calls with his daughters without any explanation. However, Judge Cogan responded by denying Guzmán’s request, stating that all arrangements were in the hands of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons after his conviction.
Guzmán, known for running an industrial-scale smuggling operation as the head of the Sinaloa cartel, was sentenced to life in prison in July 2019. His cartel was responsible for smuggling large quantities of drugs into the United States and carrying out multiple murders. Despite his imprisonment in America’s most secure prison, El Chapo had a history of escaping from Mexican prisons before his final capture.
The news of El Chapo’s communication struggles in prison has sparked renewed interest in the notorious drug lord’s story, shedding light on the challenges he faces behind bars.
