Mexico extradites top drug lord 'El Chapo' to US
Guzman was one of the world's most wanted drug kingpins until he was captured in January 2016
Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman is escorted by soldiers during a presentation in Mexico City, January 8, 2016. REU
Notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman has been extradited from a prison in northern Mexico to the United States, the Mexican government said on Thursday, one day before Donald Trump assumes the US presidency.
Guzman was one of the world's most wanted drug kingpins until he was captured in January 2016. Six months earlier, he had broken out of a high-security penitentiary in central Mexico through a mile-long tunnel.
Mexican drug lord appeals US extradition
"The government ... today handed Mr Guzman Loera to the US authorities," the foreign ministry said in a statement, referring to a court decision on Thursday rejecting a legal challenge by his lawyers against extradition.
Guzman was being held in a prison in the infamously violent border city of Juarez in the northern state of Chihuahua where his Sinaloa cartel won a bloody drug war against rivals.
Mexico quietly marks 10 years of drug war
His lawyers had sought to block his extradition to the United States.
“It’s a good thing to finally get him to the US side,” said a senior US law enforcement official based in Mexico.
He said he did not think Mexico put “a whole lot of thought” into the timing of the extradition, that comes the day before Trump’s inauguration, “but it certainly isn’t a bad thing.”
Guzman was one of the world's most wanted drug kingpins until he was captured in January 2016. Six months earlier, he had broken out of a high-security penitentiary in central Mexico through a mile-long tunnel.
Mexican drug lord appeals US extradition
"The government ... today handed Mr Guzman Loera to the US authorities," the foreign ministry said in a statement, referring to a court decision on Thursday rejecting a legal challenge by his lawyers against extradition.
Guzman was being held in a prison in the infamously violent border city of Juarez in the northern state of Chihuahua where his Sinaloa cartel won a bloody drug war against rivals.
Mexico quietly marks 10 years of drug war
His lawyers had sought to block his extradition to the United States.
“It’s a good thing to finally get him to the US side,” said a senior US law enforcement official based in Mexico.
He said he did not think Mexico put “a whole lot of thought” into the timing of the extradition, that comes the day before Trump’s inauguration, “but it certainly isn’t a bad thing.”