Eventually, you’ll be familiar with El Chapo from the inevitable Netflix series based on his exploits, but in case you can’t wait that long, here’s a run-down:
Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was digging tunnels in Mexico long before the Donald hatched his cartoon supervillain plan to build a border wall.
The infamous drug lord escaped from prison twice before being recaptured and extradited to the United States.
As if that’s not Hollywood enough, it was actor Sean Penn who inadvertently led police to El Chapo after interviewing the head of the Sinaloa Cartel for a piece in Rolling Stone.
These days, Guzman’s life is considerably less glamorous.
The 62-year-old is currently being held in solitary confinement in New York’s Metropolitan Correctional Complex.
Sources say Guzman is confined to a “closet-sized” cell 23 hours a day, five days a week.
He’s permitted to leave the cell for one hour each weekday so that he can work out on a treadmill or stationary bike to prevent his muscles from atrophying.
Chapo’s lawyers are in court this week arguing that the treatment is inhumane, and petitioning for their client to be relocated to the facility’s general population wing.
It’s a tough sell for a couple of reasons:
1. Chapo is a two-time escapee, and if prison officials are no doubt concerned that he’ll try again.
2. Chapo is an A-list celebrity in the crime world, a fact that could make him an esay target for inmates with something to prove.
Interestingly, insiders tell TMZ that Guzman isn’t all that concerned with the upcoming trial that will likely land him behind bars for the rest of his life.
Instead, he’s reportedly more focused on his celebrity status.
“He regularly asks his lawyers, ‘What are they saying about me?’ He’s very concerned about his image,” says a source inside the prison.
Of course, he needn’t worry too much, as a story like his probably won’t go too much longer without being adapted for the screen.
It’s a thorny issue, because on one hand, El Chapo is a murderous gangster who’s devastated whole communities, and thus, probably doesn’t deserve to be celebrated.
But on the other hand, the guy had to spend two days hanging out with Sean Penn.
So when you think about it, he’s really already suffered enough.