Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán He has been locked up in prison for just over five years. maximum security prison ADX Florence, in Colorado, where he barely has human contact due to the strict isolation regime to which he is subjected. These extreme conditions have aggravated their health.
According to the information of Illicit Investigationsa network made up of three journalists dedicated to covering drug trafficking issues, since his sentence to life imprisonment, the former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel has experienced both physical and mental deterioration due to the strict isolation regime in which he lives.
His family has revealed details about the boss’s health status and his fight for a new trial, where he is representing himself after losing confidence in his lawyers.
ADX Florence, created in 1994, is considered one of the safest prisons in the world. Since its inauguration, not a single escape has been recorded, thanks to its sophisticated security system that includes 1,400 automatic doors, 12 towers with snipers, fences with barbed wire up to four meters high, and advanced technology such as laser beams and smart security cameras. In addition, guard dogs patrol constantly, and the staff has a special security system to monitor the inmates.
Each cell in this prison measures just 2.1 meters long by 3.6 meters wide and is designed to minimize any contact or communication between inmates. These cells have acoustic insulation, a shower, a television, a concrete bed and chair, and cameras that monitor prisoners 24 hours a day.
The inmates pass 23 hours a day in their cells, with only one hour to sunbathe or exercise in a metal cage located in a patio surrounded by six-meter-high walls.
Visits are extremely limited; In the case of El Chapo Guzmán, he only has contact with his lawyer Mariel Colon. Any exit from the cell involves being accompanied by multiple guards and subjected to strict security measures, including handcuffs, shackles and chains attached to the stomach.
The prolonged confinement has had serious consequences for the health of Joaquín Guzmán Loera.
According to family members Illicit Investigationsthe drug trafficker suffers from hypertensionbut what most affects your well-being are the anxiety attacks caused by extreme isolation, for which he is also medicated.
“El Chapo suffers from high blood pressure for which he takes a pill Linosipril 20mg a day, but the most difficult thing is the anxiety attacks due to the extreme confinement where he does not have contact with any other inmate, for which he also is medicated“, reads the X account of the aforementioned media.
Just a few weeks ago, lawyer Mariel Colón revealed that El Chapo’s life in prison was “boring, lonely and sad.” “He cannot talk to other prisoners, he cannot take classes, he cannot see his wife, anyone in his family,” he told journalist Ángel Hernández.
Every two times a year, Colón takes with him ‘El Chapo’s’ twins, Emaly Guadalupe and María Joaquina, who live with Emma Coronel somewhere in California.
In 2022, the drug lord himself said that the treatment he receives is “cruel and unfair,” in addition to pointing out that they served him little food. Among his illnesses, Guzmán Loera has claimed to have “headaches, memory loss, muscle cramps, stress and depression”. He also had foot fungus that allegedly caused his feet to fall off. toe nails; and claimed to have sleep disorders because the ventilation in his cell is very hot.
“Every night this causes my heart to begin beating rapidly, raising my blood pressure. “I have presented this problem to the staff, but no one has done anything,” he stated at that time, when seeking a reinstatement of the trial.
In a letter signed on September 25, 2024, addressed to Judge Brian Cogan, El Chapo requested a new trial, claiming that his extradition was illegal and that he did not receive an adequate legal defense.
Among his complaints, he points out that the lawyers Jeffrey Lichtman and Mariel Colón they failed to exclude key evidence or effectively cross-examine witnesses during the trial, resulting in his conviction.
According to Illicit Investigations“Guzmán is disappointed in lawyer Jeffrey Lichtman, who took out millions of dollars to the Guzmán family for their defense and did not achieve a fair trial nor prevent him from being held under the SAMs regime in the prison known as the ‘Alcatraz of the Mountains’. Likewise, the Guzmáns say they are disappointed in the Puerto Rican lawyer Mariel Colón who he dedicated himself to his artistic career and she forgot about the client who made her famous,” it reads.
The drug trafficker seeks to overturn the life sentence and hopes that the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit will reevaluate his case.
Meanwhile, El Chapo has also been informed of recent developments in the lives of his sons Joaquín Guzmán López and Ovidio Guzmán, who are negotiating agreements with the United States government after being arrested. These negotiations could mean a reduction in their sentences if they cooperate with authorities, a path other drug traffickers have followed in the past.
According to the family, Emma Coronel’s husband also longs to reunite with hisour sons Ovidio and Joaquín Guzmán López, who now face criminal charges in the United States.