Mexico extradites drug lord Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman to US

Under heavy guard – notorious drug kingpin El Chapo – has been flown from Mexico to the US where he is wanted in several states on charges of drug trafficking, money laundering and murder.SOT Alberto Elias Beltran, Mexican Deputy Attorney General: (AP)”Today, Joaquin Guzman was extradited by the government of Mexico, and was delivered to the American authorities in Ciudad Juarez. The above was carried out under the framework of, and in full accordance with, the extradition treaty between both countries and the law of international extraditionFor more then a decade the US has sought Joaquin Guzman’s extradition. The leader of the violent Sinaloa cartel – Guzman’s feats turned him into an underworld legend in Mexico.Twice he’s managed to escape from maximum security prisons. The first time back in 2001 when he hid in a laundry basket. He was recaptured in 2014 – but his incarceration didn’t last long. Despite constant video surveillance – his men managed to build a tunnel directly underneath his cell -allowing for his escape right under the noses of the authorities – much to the humiliation of the government.In Mexico reaction to his extradition was mixed.SOT VOXPOP “Here the prisons are a joke. Here they live as if they were at home. Well, you saw him when he ran away. He had all the privileges, TV and everything. SOT VOXPOP “Well, maybe it’s to make a good impression forTrump and the United States. But I think that they should have left him here to complete his sentence.”Mexican officials denied the the timing of the extradition had anything to do with US politics or Donald Trump’s innauguration.If convicted Guzman faces a life sentence.


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