The prolific pen of inmate 89914053: El Chapo's letters from his Colorado prison
Documents obtained by El País show that Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán has written dozens of letters during his time at ADX Florence, the highest-security US federal prison, sharing with family and lawyers his reflections on the Sinaloa cartel's structure inside Mexico, transfer plans and his views on the US judicial process. The letters offer a different angle on the generational succession unfolding inside the cartel. The Mexican government said it is monitoring the public release of the correspondence closely.
According to the El País investigation, inmate 89914053 — Joaquín Guzmán — has written over the past three years to his wife, children and several lawyers about everything from his single hour of daily exercise to the security arrangements for family members still in Mexico. Some of the correspondence addresses how the "Los Chapitos" branch of his sons has been organising within the Sinaloa cartel and the details of tensions with the branch loyal to Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada.
The letters sent to his lawyers discuss possible bargains around US-Mexico extraditions and possible appeals in the federal cases against him; in one letter he asks to be transferred to a Mexican prison under "humane conditions." Under ADX Florence rules, correspondence is screened by prison staff; prison-affairs experts consulted by El País said the letters nevertheless give insight into power-balance debates inside the cartel itself. The letters contain no instructions addressed to public officials or any operational orders.
The Mexican Interior Ministry told El País that the correspondence had not been shared by US authorities but that the content circulating in the media would be monitored "under the framework of institutional cooperation." The recent rise in violence in Sinaloa state is being read as a ground-level reflection of the cartel's generational transition.
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