US prison letters reveal 'cruel punishment,' claims infamous drug lord

Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman has petitioned US court officials to allow his return to his homeland, according to court documents released Monday. He is currently serving what he describes as a "harsh" life sentence.

After being extradited in 2017 following two successful prison escapes in Mexico, Guzman is now incarcerated in a high-security facility in Colorado.

He was convicted on several charges including drug smuggling and money laundering.

The AFP reviewed three letters composed by the Sinaloa cartel co-founder, all filed on Monday. CBS News also had access to one letter, marked by its grammatically incorrect English.

"This is a courteous note concerning the significant evidence not proven in my trial," Guzman wrote in his letter dated April 23.

In correspondence addressed to the Eastern District Court of New York, Guzman urged authorities to recognise his "rights to be request back (sic) to my country," without specifying if he intends to complete his sentence in Mexico.

In a different letter from April 20, Guzman expressed frustration that his requests for the documents related to his sentence have been ignored.

These documents fail to justify "my severe punishment," he noted. "The trial's decision wasn't fair," he concluded.

El Chapo mentioned that he has awaited an appeal for three years, invoking rights from the "first to fifth amendment."

The former drug dealer has often criticised, in earlier prison letters, the solitary environment, poor conditions of his cell, and lack of family contact.

In 2023, the Sinaloa cartel leader sought assistance from then President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, citing supposed "psychological distress" he was experiencing in detention.

El Chapo is confined at the "Supermax" prison in Florence, Colorado, where numerous infamous inmates, such as the Unabomber Ted Kaczynski, Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, September 11 collaborator Zacarias Moussaoui, and Oklahoma City bombing partner Terry Nichols, have been held. The prison's high security, isolation, and stark conditions earn it the nickname "Alcatraz of the Rockies."

The previous month, Mexican forces apprehended three of El Chapo's brother's close associates with assistance from US intelligence. His brother, Aureliano Guzman Loera, known as "El Guano," still has a $5 million US reward for his capture.