Mexico’s president says he will consider El Chapo’s request

MEXICO CITY – Mexico’s president on Wednesday said his government would consider a request from jailed drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman to be returned to Mexico, presumably to serve his sentence.

Guzman, 64, was sentenced to life behind bars in the United States for a drug conspiracy that spread murder and mayhem for more than two decades.

Guzman has been living in poor prison conditions since his 2019 conviction, said José Refugio Rodríguez, a Mexican lawyer who claims to represent him. Rodríguez told local media that Guzman did not have adequate access to sunlight, visits, good food or medical care.

The Mexican Embassy in Washington said on its Twitter account that it had received an email from Rodríguez on the subject and forwarded it to the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said: “We will review it,” adding: “You always have to keep the door open when it comes to human rights.”

The United States and Mexico have a prison transfer agreement that allows prisoners convicted in one country to serve their sentences in their home country under certain circumstances. But given Guzman’s crimes, his conviction and the risks he allegedly still poses, many doubt the deal would apply in his case.