In 2023, the Mexican ambassador to the United States, Esteban Moctezuma, sent a letter of protest regarding the treatment that Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán receives in the ADX Florence maximum-security prison in Colorado, where he is serving a life sentence. The leader of the Sinaloa Cartel requested Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to review possible irregularities in his extradition process to the United States. Despite not speaking English, in 2024, Guzmán takes on his own defense.
The mother of "El Chapo," Consuelo Loera, passed away in 2023 without being able to see her son one last time. Other leaders of the Mexican drug trade, facing desperate situations in prison in the United States, have chosen to send letters to Mexican presidents in an attempt to change their fate.
Consuelo Loera thanked the then-president of Mexico for his support in the repatriation process for her son in 2019, and again requested his intervention to be able to visit the drug trafficker. She mentioned his health conditions and her desire to see her son after five years without doing so.
Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán has been seeking to repeat the trial that led him to a life sentence in the United States since 2019. Although the legal trajectory of his case is uncertain, it is evident that he is making his last efforts not to die alone in prison.
Another narco leader, Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, has sent a letter to the president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, expressing his fear of being sentenced to death and denouncing the illegality of his detention in the United States. Furthermore, he warns of possible tensions between the governments of the United States and Mexico if his case does not receive attention.
The letters written by these drug lords from prison seek to influence their legal situation and express their concerns. Despite the difficult circumstances, they continue to fight for a chance at justice.
