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Mexican drug trafficker Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán appealed against the life sentence handed down a year ago by a US court for trafficking hundreds of tons of narcotics in the country.
“El Chapo,” as he is commonly known, remains isolated, incarcerated in one of the highest security prisons in the United States, located in the mountainous Colorado desert.
“The prosecution of Chapo Guzmán was marred by unbridled excesses and excesses, both governmental and judicial,” wrote his attorney Marc Fernich in the appeal, filed last night before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York.
The 62-year-old former leader of Mexico’s powerful Sinaloa drug cartel was convicted last year of crimes spanning a quarter of a century, including trafficking hundreds of tons of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana.
Guzmán’s lawyer, Mariel Colón Miro, told AFP that the initial ruling should be annulled because one of the jurors told Vice News that he and others found information about the case through the media and social networks during the judgment, which is prohibited.
He added that the total isolation imposed on Guzmán since his extradition to the United States in January 2017 prevented him from collaborating in his defense both before and after the trial.
“We are very optimistic that something positive will come out of this,” Ms. Miro said, adding that she looked forward to a new trial.
During Guzmán’s reign, his cartel’s empire spread throughout the world and its tentacles spread from America to Europe and Asia.
He managed to escape from prison twice. The second time, in 2015, through a 1.5 km tunnel that was opened in the shower of her cell. She drove away by hopping on a modified motorcycle mounted on rails.
Guzmán was captured by Mexican marines six months later, in January 2016, and he was extradited to the United States a year later, ending his decades-long cat and mouse game with authorities.
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