El Chapo will not have outdoor exercise or ear plugs, judge the rules

Guzman, who had twice escaped the custody of Mexican authorities before being extradited to the United States for trial in 2017, had asked for at least two hours of outdoor activities a week, a access to the main police station, the opportunity to buy six bottles of water a week and ear plugs. relieve headaches and ear pain and help to sleep.

"I agree with the defendant that his conduct was and remains exemplary, but this conduct is a direct consequence of the strict conditions of detention in which he finds himself," Cogan wrote. "His continued good conduct is not a reason to change them – it's a reason to keep them up."

The judge provides his justification

Cogan also referred to "credible evidence of a prison escape attempt from the only available open-air recreation area (Metropolitan Correctional Center New York)" for SAM inmates. This escape attempt took place in 1981.

The government previously stated that Guzman had access to "several types of exercise equipment, including an exercise bike and an elliptical, as well as a ventilated window providing the defendant with access to in fresh air and outside light ".

With regard to the demand for the use of the same police station as that offered to detainees of the general population, the Prison Office has prohibited SAM detainees from possessing many items in the main police station because they may be armed, Cogan said, saying that he would not question that again. decision.

The bottles of water are already provided, said the judge. Guzman has received six bottles since April, he wrote.

The demand for earplugs has been denied, in part, because it makes no sense, said Cogan. Guzman refused to use earphones provided by the court during the trial, citing his ear pain, he said.

"If the headphones have worsened the condition of his ear during the trial, I do not see how the use of ear plugs will help it now," he said. declared.

Whatever the case may be, writes the judge, the Metropolitan Correctional Center bans ear plugs to all inmates because of the risk that they may ignore the guards or not hear their orders in case of emergency.

Lawyer: Guzman can not sleep with noise and lights

One of Guzman's lawyers wrote to Cogan last month complaining that for two years, his client had no access to fresh air or sunlight and that He had to put toilet paper in his ears to hide the intense noise of the prison.

The government responded that the only outdoor exercise space in New York's federal prison, in which Guzman was located, was a roof covered with wire mesh.

In 1981, cohorts of a detainee hijacked a tourist helicopter and attempted to cut the wire mesh, said the government, describing the prospect of the duration of the outdoor exercise for Guzman as "problematic" ".

"As the lawsuit stated, one of the (Guzman) escapes involved the construction of a sophisticated and ventilated tunnel extending over one kilometer. an escape through the roof, with the help of a helicopter or any other associated means, would be elementary in comparison, "the government said.

Guzman, who was once the leader of the Mexican Sinaloa cartel, was convicted in February of leading a criminal enterprise and other drug related charges. He will be sentenced on June 25.

He is currently serving his solitary confinement in a 13-square-meter windowless cell in Manhattan, said defense lawyer Mariel Colon Miro. The light stays on in his cell 24 hours a day and the air conditioning is so noisy that Guzman can not sleep, said Colon.