Mexican judge backs second US extradition order for Chapo

A Mexican judge has approved a second US extraditionrequest for drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, officials said, giving the government about a month to confirm the decision.

A Mexico City judge ruled in favor of the request, based on drug trafficking, money laundering and murder charges lodged in a US federal court in Texas, the Judicial Council said in a statement.

The foreign ministry now has 20 working days to decide whether to extradite the Sinaloa drug cartel kingpin, and his lawyers would then have 30 days to file an appeal.

Earlier this month, a judge endorsed an extradition request based on cocaine charges in California, but the foreign ministry has yet to issue a decision on that ruling.

A foreign ministry spokesman had no immediate comment on the status of the two extradition requests.

Guzman's lawyer, Jose Refugio Rodriguez, told AFP that he would file an appeal if the foreign ministry decides to extradite his client.
Refugio has vowed to fight extradition unless US authorities negotiate good prison conditions for Guzman.

But a US government official has told AFP that there would be no deals made with Guzman and that US authorities expect the extradition to happen in several months, or by the end of the year.

Guzman, who has escaped twice from maximum-security prisons, was unexpectedly transferred on May 7 from a lockup near Mexico City to a penitentiary in Ciudad Juarez, at the US border.

His transfer raised speculation that his extradition was imminent, but Mexican authorities said it was due to security upgrades at the Altiplano prison, from where Guzman had escaped in July 2015 before his recapture in January.

- Dirty cell -

Refugio has filed two motions for Guzman to be returned to the Altiplano, some 90 kilometers (55 miles) west of Mexico City.

The lawyer says Guzman should remain close to the courts in Mexico City and nearby Toluca that are reviewing his criminal cases. Ciudad Juarez is nearly 1,800 kilometers away.

The drug lord has also complained about his new cell being dirty.
Refugio said Guzman is isolated and complains that his "cell does not have the best health conditions. Joaquin has asked that they give him products to clean it, such as chlorine."

The prison in Ciudad Juarez was ranked last among 20 federal prisons in a 2015 report by the National Human Rights Commission, but officials say the jail has since improved and that Guzman is in a maximum-security wing.

Last Thursday, authorities transferred 81 inmates out of the Juarez prison as part of a regular rotation of prisoners.

But a federal official told AFP that some were moved "to avoid any upheaval" because they are members of a gang opposed to the Sinaloa cartel.

Guzman's group fought a terrifying turf war for control of drug trafficking through Ciudad Juarez in recent years.

Guzman first escaped from prison in 2001. He was detained after a long manhunt in February 2014.

He escaped from the Altiplano prison in July 2015, when he snuck out through a 1.5-kilometer (one-mile) tunnel leading to his cell's shower.

Guzman was recaptured in January and sent back to Altiplano, which is still considered the highest security prison despite his escape.

Source: AFP