Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he is very sorry that the infamous drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman will spend the rest of his life in an inhumane prison.
“I am very sorry that these cases take place,” Lopez Obrador (AMLO) said during his daily press conference. “I don’t want anyone in prison. I don’t want anyone him to suffer. I am an idealist. I believe in love fraternity and happiness.” The video of the conference was posted online by Mexico’s El Universal.
AMLO’s statements come soon after the former head of the Sinaloa Cartel learned his fate at a U.S. federal court in New York. Breitbart News reported, El Chapo received a sentence of life in prison and 30 additional years in connection with 10 charges including drug and money laundering conspiracies tied to the Sinaloa Cartel. In addition to the sentence, federal prosecutors are moving to seize $12.6 billion that they claim El Chapo made during his tenure leading Mexico’s most powerful drug cartel.
“It’s an ungrateful life, to have a family and not being able to see it,” AMLO said referring to a drug lord’s lifestyle. “When this all ends in prison sentences, a sentence to spend your life in prison, a sentence in a hostile, hard, inhuman prison; it does move you.”
In his speech, AMLO said the topic was difficult because he also had crime victims on his mind. “It is very painful.”
During Guzman’s highly publicized trial, court documents noted that El Chapo helped fund AMLO’s failed 2006 presidential campaign. Witnesses also testified that former Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto took a $100 million bribe from El Chapo while in office. Testimony also pointed to numerous top Mexican officials including judges, prosecutors, and military generals all taking money from El Chapo and doing his bidding for him.
“I hope that this does not continue happening I hope that all Mexicans have the chance to be happy without partaking in illicit acts,” AMLO said. “Without living with the risks that come when you act outside of the law.”
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Border / Cartel Chronicles. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Border / Cartel Chronicles. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.