El Chapo Acusses the Mexican Goverment of Framing Him with Violent Crimes: “They blamed me for things I didn’t do”

Sinaloa cartel co-founder and one of Mexico's most notorious and powerful drug lords, Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán is again pleading with U.S. authorities to approve his extradition request as he approaches the 10-year mark since being sent to the United States to serve a life sentence.

In the third handwritten letter signed by him in the last few weeks, El Chapo accused the Mexican government of framing him and insisted that his image in his country isn't bad, in a contrast to his wife Emma Coronel's messaging, who has apologized to his victims.

Guzmán, who for decades led the Sinaloa cartel and helped turn it into one of the most powerful criminal organizations in the world, has sent multiple letters in recent weeks to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn, asking authorities to reconsider his case and send him back to Mexico to serve his sentence.

Over the years, Guzmán has written several letters to authorities, often criticizing the conditions of his confinement and at times describing them as inhumane. But in recent weeks, El Chapo has now sent five letters asking authorities for his return to Mexico, arguing that key evidence presented during his case "wasn't proven" and that his 8th Amendment was violated.

In a letter written in English, Guzmán said prosecutors blamed him for crimes he insists he did not commit while shifting responsibility to Mexican officials.

"The Mexican government was responsible for all the violent crimes," Guzmán wrote. "They blamed me for things I didn't do, all because of who I am."

"I was known in my country not for bad things. The good things I have done in Mexico are wanting family to eat together and have a great life," another excerpt of the letter reads.

Despite his requests for a new trial and to be transferred back to Mexico, federal Judge Brian Cogan denied Guzmán's motions, ruling that his arguments "make no sense" and lacked legal merit.

Guzmán was sentenced to life in prison in 2019 after being convicted on drug trafficking charges. His sentence also included an additional 30 years in prison. He is being held at ADX Florence in Colorado, the Bureau of Prisons' administrative maximum facility designed for inmates considered the greatest risk to staff, other prisoners and the public.

As El Chapo continues pressing his case with U.S. authorities, his latest claims that he committed no crimes contrast with comments made by his former wife, Emma Coronel, last year, when she publicly apologized to victims affected by organized crime, particularly drug cartels.

In her documentary "Married to El Chapo: Emma Coronel Speaks," Coronel said the more than two years she spent in prison on drug trafficking and money laundering charges led her to reflect on the damage caused by organized crime, as she offered an apology to people affected by cartel violence, striking a sharply different tone from El Chapo's latest letter.

"I sympathize with all the people who lost a loved one and who have suffered. I truly am very sorry," she said.

Originally published on Latin Times