Judge Rejects El Chapo Guzman Letters Seeking New Trial and Extradition

U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan rejected a series of handwritten letters sent by Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman in April that sought a new trial, extradition to Mexico and other forms of relief. The judge stated Monday that some of the documents made no sense and none of them had any legal merit.

Guzman, who is serving a life sentence at a maximum-security prison in Florence, Colorado, sent at least six letters to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York during the month. In a letter dated April 28, Guzman stated that the Mexican government was responsible for all the violence crimes and that he did not harm anyone.

Earlier letters argued that amendments to the U.S. Constitution had been violated during his trial and that the verdict was not fair due to lack of evidence. One letter requested family visitation rights and a retrial. Another sought extradition release to Mexico.

The letters were often barely legible, according to court records. The ruling came hours before Emma Coronel Aispuro, 36, posted a video on her Instagram Stories showing her performing pull-ups during a gym session in California. The video, which has since been removed, drew positive comments from followers including encouragement to continue exercising.

Coronel Aispuro married Guzman at age 18 when she was a beauty queen. She pleaded guilty in June 2021 to drug trafficking, money laundering and a criminal violation of the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act. She was sentenced to three years in prison as part of a plea deal and was released in September 2023 after time in a Texas jail and a California halfway house.