Joaquín Guzmán Loera, known as El Chapo, former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, submitted a handwritten letter to Judge Brian Cogan of the federal court in Brooklyn, New York, in which he claims that the US government has prevented him from contacting attorney Israel José Encinosa, who recently joined his defense team.
In the letter, the kingpin repeatedly insists that Judge Cogan order prison authorities to allow him to receive visits, calls, and letters from his legal representative.
It’s worth mentioning that Guzmán Loera is currently in the Super Maximum Security Prison in Florence, Colorado, where he is serving a life sentence after being convicted of drug trafficking in 2019.
“With the utmost respect, I am writing the following. Attorney José Israel Encinosa told me that it’s been three weeks since you authorized the government to allow the attorney to visit me, speak to me by phone, and write to me, but to this day, they have not authorized my phone call,” reads the letter obtained by Mexican newspaper.
According to the Mexican drug trafficker, who is in prison under Special Administrative Measures (SAMs)—which prevent him from leaving his cell for most of the day and restrict his access to visits—Cogan previously authorized Encinosa to represent him and have contact with him, however, that has not occurred.
“The lawyer wrote to me several weeks ago, but to this day, I haven’t received the two letters that Attorney Encinosa wrote to me. The lawyer has been fighting for about 10 months to get the government’s permission to visit me and speak to me on the phone. I thought that now that you ordered them to authorize Attorney Encinosa to visit me and speak to me on the phone, but to this day, the lawyer hasn’t been authorized to do so,” Guzmán Loera insists.
