Chivis for Borderland Beat
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Still complaining about accommodations
“El Chapo” appeared in a Brooklyn, New York, federal courtroom today for a pretrial hearing. U.S. Marshalls escorted the Sinaloa capo from high security Manhattan prison cell.
Because of security concerns, last week a judge ordered the hearing to be conducted via web cam, but Chapo requested an in court appearance, which was granted.
Chapo’s 27 year old wife, Emma Coronel, was present in the courtroom, who Chapo quickly spotted as he entered the courtroom, both broke into smiles.
Prosecutors contend that Chapo led the Sinaloa Cartel for 30 years and during that time ordered kidnappings and killing of thousands.
The Guzman complaint machine has not let up in any of Chapo’s prison transfers and his move to NY is no exception. In a news conference after the hearing, his attorneys, along with his wife, complained about Chapo’s accommodations.
Pointing out that Chapo is kept locked in his cell for 23 hours a day, with only one hour of exercise time and visits by attorneys. His wife says she has not been allowed to visit him.
El Chapo is being held in a prison unit called “the shoe”, used to house mob bosses and terrorists.
In the conference, Chapo’s attorneys suggested that the extradition that moved Chapo to U.S. jurisdiction was flawed and possibly illegal. This seems to have taken a page out of the El Mochomo defense, which in fact the extradition order is problematic. Multiple charges were added after his extradition, which is unlawful and is a valid defense in the case of El Mochomo. Chapo’s attorneys are claiming this may have happened in the case of El Chapo.