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Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman will remain in solitary confinement in a New York City prison, a U.S. judge ruled Thursday, although he will be allowed to send pre-screened messages to his wife for personal reasons and to help mount his legal defense.
El Chapo’s court-appointed lawyers argued in March that he was being held in unnecessarily harsh conditions and asked that he be released into the general prison population. But U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan in Brooklyn ruled that there were good reasons for unusual measures around El Chapo, who has escaped from two Mexican prisons.
The former head of the Sinaloa Cartel is restricted to his cell for 23 hours a day, with the lights on at all times. He has one hour of exercise in a small cage with no fresh air or sunlight, according to a March letter to prosecutors from Amnesty International.
The human rights group had asked to inspect the cell, but Cogan on Thursday denied that request, saying Amnesty's involvement would "further sensationalize" the case.
Cogan ruled that El Chapo may not communicate with witnesses, citing his "alleged history of witness intimidation."
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