FLORENCE, Colo. — The infamous drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán has filed an amended federal complaint, alleging that he faces cruel and unusual conditions of confinement inside a federal prison in Colorado.
Guzmán is considered a "principal leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, a Mexico-based international drug trafficking organization responsible for importing and distributing vast quantities of cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamine and heroin into the United States," according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
In July 2019, Guzmán was sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years, after a 12-week trial in the United States District Court, where he was convicted of dozens of charges, including 26 drug-related violations and one murder conspiracy. He is currently incarcerated in Southern Colorado, where he will likely remain for the rest of his life.
A complaint filed on August 8 against the United States Penitentiary Administrative Maximum (ADMAX) facility in Florence asserts that Guzmán suffers from "near-constant severe sinus, ear, nose, and throat pain for years without adequate medical care," and has experienced "severe sleep deprivation for years due to the conditions of confinement in his cell."
Allegedly, Guzmán has "oppressively hot air" blown into his cell repeatedly at night.
The filing claims Guzmán is kept in "a state of extreme isolation," with "little to no access to Spanish-speaking mental health professionals."
'El Chapo' says he faces 'unprecedented discrimination' in prison
The lawsuit alleges that the "all-encompassing isolation" is cruel and unusual punishment, and Guzmán will suffer "irreparable harm" as a result of the "unconstitutional isolation."
The original prisoner complaint was filed in July 2024. This is the third amended complaint.
In December 2024, Guzmán was appointed pro bono counsel. Prominent Colorado civil rights attorneys David Lane and Darold Killmer entered into the case in February.
"It's a civil rights case that [Guzmán] filed on his own, alleging basically that the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment is being violated by the way they're treating him in federal custody in Florence, Colorado, at the supermax prison," Lane told Denver7. "He is alleging that he is in complete and total isolation with virtually no human contact of any kind. He only speaks Spanish, and even the Spanish-speaking guards are instructed not to interact with him or talk with him. So this is complete isolation from any human contact."
Lane said they are currently going through the discovery process in this case.
"If you are on the receiving end of cruel and unusual punishment, it has nothing to do with what you may deserve as a person or whether you're good, bad or indifferent. It's government control... The most dangerous entity on Earth is a government that's unchecked and can do whatever it wants," Lane said. "We are here to defend [Guzmán] against the government and protect all of our fundamental rights."
A third attorney from the law firm, Reid Allison, entered into the case on August 8 — the same day the new amended complaint was filed.
In the amended complaint, Guzmán requested a specialist for medical issues, a mental health professional who speaks Spanish, and more contact with his family.
