El Chapo Transferred To Prison In Juarez Near Texas Border, Could Extradition To U.S. Be Next?

Besides making the move to a television near you in an upcoming History channel TV show, El Chapo is also on the move to a new prison. Early Saturday morning, convicted drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was transferred to a prison in northern Mexico near the Texas border. Guzman was moved from the maximum-security Altiplano prison near Mexico City to a prison in Ciudad Juarez.

Michael Vigil, the former head of international operations for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, said El Chapo was moved because of security concerns. Vigil said he was briefed by Mexican officials, but did not specify if there was credible plots uncovered for Guzman’s escape. Jailbreaks are a major concern when it comes to El Chapo since he embarrassed the Mexican government by escaping maximum security prison not once, but twice. He escaped Altiplano prison in July 2015, but was recaptured on January 8th of this year.

“I don’t know what the strategy is,” Jose Refugio Rodriguez, an attorney for Guzman, told The Associated Press. “I can’t say what the government is thinking.”

Guzman and his lawyers are fighting against extradition to the United States. The Sinaloa cartel boss faces charges from seven separate United States attorneys’ offices, including in Chicago, New York, Miami and San Diego. Guzman’s lawyers have filed multiple appeals against their client being sent to the United States.

“Due to the proximity (to the U.S.), it makes it easier to extradite him,” a Mexican official told CNN.

The Full Story Of El Chapo’s Escape And Recapture


[NYT]