'El Chapo' Submits Letter Asking Judge for New Trial Alleging his Lawyers were 'Ineffective'

Ovidio Guzmán López, one of the sons of drug kingpin Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, is currently negotiating a plea deal with U.S. authorities, his lawyer announced on Monday from a Chicago courthouse. Known as "El Ratón" (The Mouse), Guzmán López was captured in January 2023 by Mexican authorities in Sinaloa and extradited in September, accused of several crimes including drug-trafficking and money laundering.

On Tuesday, it was his father making the rounds, as it was revealed that he recently published a hand written letter requesting a new trial. In it, he claims that his extradition from Mexico was illegal and that his defense team during his trial was "ineffective". Guzmán is currently serving a life sentence after being convicted in 2019 of multiple drug trafficking and conspiracy charges.

His appeal, submitted in September but published on Monday by journalist Luis Chaparro, claims that his defense failed to effectively cross-examine witnesses and exclude critical evidence. , as reported by La Opinión.

Guzmán's team previously sought a retrial in 2019 after a report that jurors were following media coverage of the proceedings, but judge Brian Cogan rejected the request saying a "mountain range of evidence" against the trafficker strongly countered his attorneys' claims that jurors engaged in misconduct.

El Chapo's defense attorney, Jeff Lichtman, said back then that the ruling further demonstrated the trial "was more of an inquisition, a show trial, than an exercise in true American justice." He, added there will always be "a stain of injustice on this case as the jury's rampant misconduct was summarily swept under the rug by the Court and the government." "El Chapo" was sentenced two weeks later.

In his most recent letter, Guzmán accuses his former defense team, led by Jeffrey Lichtman, of providing ineffective representation. He now seeks a new trial on these grounds, though legal experts suggest his chances of success are slim. Lichtman is now representing his son, Ovidio Guzmán.