Inside El Chapo's prison life: Married drug lord is seeking solace with an attractive interpreter as he sues Supermax over 'torture' conditions

El Chapo's lawsuit and claims

Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmán, the 68‑year‑old former leader of the Sinaloa cartel, is serving a life sentence in the United States Penitentiary Administrative Maximum Facility (ADX Florence) in Colorado. He has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice, the Bureau of Prisons and officials at the Supermax facility, accusing them of subjecting him to conditions he describes as "torture."

Guzmán argues that the Special Administrative Measures (SAMs) imposed on him are excessively harsh and have seriously damaged his physical and mental health. In his complaint, he alleges that the combination of extreme isolation, constant monitoring and restrictions on communication is punitive and inhumane rather than purely security‑related.

Conditions at ADX Florence

El Chapo has been held at ADX Florence since July 2019, confined to a small cell for almost the entire day with minimal human contact. He claims he is not allowed to participate in educational or work programs and is effectively cut off from normal prison activities available to most other inmates.

According to his account, he cannot visit the prison library, work, or interact with other prisoners, and even his contact with guards is limited. Food is reportedly passed through a small slot in the door, and he eats, showers and lives within the same four walls, without access to fresh air or direct sunlight.

Allegations of sleep deprivation and health impact

Guzmán describes a pattern of sleep disruption in which, he says, blasts of extremely hot air are pumped into his cell several times a night. These bursts, lasting about 15 minutes each, allegedly wake him after midnight four or five times a night and cause his heart to race.

He maintains that this ongoing disturbance prevents proper sleep, raises his blood pressure and aggravates existing health issues. In letters included in his legal filings, he warns that the SAMs and overall conditions are pushing him toward insanity and could lead to a heart attack or death.

Lawyer’s perspective and previous complaints

His lawyer, Mariel Colón, says El Chapo is showing "strange and worrying" signs of deteriorating mental health under these conditions. She attributes these changes to continuous isolation, noting that he remains alone in his cell 24 hours a day, seven days a week, without seeing sunlight.

Colón stresses that he cannot mix with other inmates or move freely within the facility, and that any reading material must be sent to him from outside. His legal team seeks what they call "more humane treatment," emphasizing that although he is serving life in prison, he should still have access to limited outdoor time, fresh air, sunlight and basic prison programs.

Broader context of his imprisonment

Before his transfer to Colorado, Guzmán had already complained about severe conditions at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in Manhattan while he awaited trial. There he described his confinement as "torture," saying it was the most inhumane situation he had experienced, involving physical, emotional and mental suffering.

His attorneys previously argued that he spent more than two years in the United States without access to fresh air or natural light and that he had to sleep with the lights on in his cell, which they said caused psychological damage. These earlier complaints form part of the narrative his defense uses to support the current lawsuit, portraying a long‑term pattern of extreme prison conditions.

Requested changes to his treatment

In the Colorado lawsuit, Guzmán asks for the removal or easing of the SAMs and for changes that would allow him to live under conditions he considers less cruel. He and his lawyers argue that, at a minimum, he should be able to spend a few hours each week outdoors, feel fresh air, receive sunlight and access the same basic programs offered to many other prisoners.

They frame these requests not as an attempt to challenge his conviction, but as a demand for treatment that does not, in their view, amount to ongoing torture. The case raises broader questions about how far U.S. authorities can go in restricting high‑risk inmates before conditions become incompatible with human rights standards.

"The SAMs are punitive, and I am getting sick. I ask that they please remove the SAMs before I have a heart attack or go insane, because under the conditions I am currently living in, which are so cruel and inhumane, that is what will happen."

"It's been torture, the most inhumane situation I have lived in my entire life. It has been physical, emotional and mental torture."

Author’s one‑sentence summary

El Chapo portrays his Supermax confinement as a regime of isolation, sleep disruption and medical risk that, in his view, transforms a life sentence into ongoing psychological and physical torture.

Daily Mail — 2025-11-28