Donald Trump Preventing 'El Chapo' from Having a Fair Trial in the United States?
- Staff Reporter
- Jan 18, 2016 08:40 AM EST
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Lawyers of Joaquin Guzmán Loera, better known as the notorious drug kingpin El Chapo, are expressly objecting to their client's possible extradition to the U.S., due to their certainty that the drug lord would not face a fair trial in the United States. Guzman's lawyers assert that there is an anti-Mexican bias in America, evidenced by the strong rhetoric of presidential frontrunner Donald Trump, according to The Huffington Post.
Authorities in both the U.S. and Mexico beg to differ, however, citing the drug kingpin's track record of escaping from Mexican prisons. During his career as a drug lord, El Chapo has managed to escape from maximum security prisons in Mexico twice.
After years of smuggling drugs across the Mexican border into the United States, El Chapo was apprehended by authorities in 1993 and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He escaped in 2001, however, after allegedly bribing prison guards with $2.5 million.
The Daily Mail further states that the it took authorities 13 years to recapture the escaped drug kingpin, who was then able to become even more prominent in the drug cartel. After narrowly avoiding capture several times, he was ultimately arrested again in 2014.
It did not take long, however, before his next escape, this time using an elaborate system that involved a mile-long tunnel with oxygen pipes and a motorbike mounted on rails in 2015. On the run for months, the notorious drug lord was once more captured by Mexican marines in an intense firefight last week.
This time, Mexican authorities agreed that the drug kingpin would be better off locked away in the United States.
El Chapo's lawyers, however, believe otherwise, citing prominent presidential candidate Donald Trump as an example of America's bias towards Latinos.
The outspoken Trump, who stands as one of America's wealthiest real estate mogul and reality TV star, has used Latinos as a pivotal angle for his ongoing presidential campaign, starting his bid for the presidency by stating that one of the United States' problems is its leniency towards the Latino population, reports Mashable.
"When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists," Trump said during his campaign announcement.
Though his strong rhetoric has turned off a number of his business partners, it has nonetheless helped boost Trump's momentum in the upcoming presidential race, with a significant number of American voters being endeared by his headstrong, vocal approach.
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