Lawyer for 'El Chapo' Guzman says he has proof Mexican drug lord is being tortured

Posted by Chuck B Almada Republished from Fox News Latino
Written by Carmen M. Llona (Fox News Latino)
Monday , 26 September, 2016

In a shocking claim, the lawyer for Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman said he has proof the Mexican drug lord is being tortured in prison.

Jose Refugio Rodriguez, Guzman’s lawyer, told Fox News Latino on Monday that he handed Guzman’s psychiatric evaluation to a judge to prove that his client is suffering from acute isolation – which he claims is a form of torture.

"Cruel and unusual treatment is torture," Rodriguez said.

Guzman, who is currently being held in a federal prison on the outskirts of Ciudad Juarez, presents symptoms of “generalized anxiety disorder and mild neurocognitive impairment” which “prove that he is being submitted to mistreatment during his incarceration,” the medical report obtained by Fox News Latino said.

Guzman’s legal team is fighting for its notorious client to be moved back to the maximum security El Altiplano prison in Central Mexico. The cartel king famously escaped from El Altiplano through a mile-long tunnel in July of 2015. He was recaptured in January.

“We requested this evaluation by an expert so steps can be taken so that he is not isolated anymore,” the lawyer said.

The two-hour evaluation was conducted by Dr. Julio Cesar Ayuzo Gonzales on Aug. 24.

In the report, Ayuzo said Guzman is taking medication for his anxiety but believes the drug kingpin should be seen by mental health specialists.

“I found the evaluated male seemingly older than his chronological age, fit, well preserved, clean, wearing clean clothes provided by the institution," Ayuzo wrote.

"He was oriented as for place and circumstance, but not so when it came to the date; he was sitting on a chair, he could not stay in the same position during the interview, he did little eye contact with his interviewer; his language was coherent; he speaks fast, in low volume and quantity; his affects appeared flat and incongruous, describe as 'I am not well'; his train of thought is linear, logical, with a tendency to perseverance; he denied the presence of suicidal or death ideation."

The doctor said Guzman is also having “auditory hallucinations.”

Guzman's lawyers have complained in the past that guards are so concerned about the drug lord escaping that they wake him up every hour to make sure he’s in his cell. They also have complained that he’s being kept in isolation.

The government insists  special security measures are needed following Guzman's escape last year – his second prison break.

Lawyers have filed appeals seeking to prevent Guzman's extradition to the United States, where he faces drug-trafficking, money-laundering, weapons and murder charges.