Jailed drug lord in a bad state, claims wife

The wife of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman has urged the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CIDH) organisation to visit the ailing Mexican drug lord in prison.“He’s in a bad state. His rights have been violated in Mexico. He’s in solitary confinement where he can’t speak with anyone,” EmmaCoronel, a 27-year-old former beauty queen, told reporters outside the Washington office of CIDH.“They should be allowed to see the conditions for themselves.” “El Chapo,” the former leader of the Sinaloa cartel, has been held in solitary confinement at a maximum security prison in Ciudad Juarez inMexico since he was recaptured in January.Coronel said Guzman was suffering from health problems and depression and fears he will not survive beyond December.Mexico elected to extradite Guzman to the US, where he is facing numerous charges in the states of Texas and California, but that process is tied up in the courts.Only El Chapo’s lawyers and family members have been allowed occasional visits, “sometimes for only half an hour,” Coronel said.His lawyers have filed injunctions to prevent his extradition, but two of them have already been rejected.Guzman’s lawyers and family insist rigorous security measures have affected his health, however, prison officials reject their claims.Once considered the world’s most powerful drug lord, “El Chapo” has escaped maximum security prisons twice already.He reportedly escaped from prison in 2001 by using a laundry cart before he was recaptured 13 years later.In July 2015 he escaped again, but was located by authorities within six months.