New Allegations Put Mexico’s Former Leaders Under Scrutiny

El Chapo’s own lawyer is now claiming that people tied to organized crime were inside Mexico’s last presidential administration — and says he has a dossier naming 32 officials to prove it.

Story Snapshot

El Chapo’s Mexican lawyer says he will hand U.S. authorities a file naming 32 government officials linked to cartel corruption.
More than 20 handwritten letters claiming to be from El Chapo have flooded a Brooklyn federal court, asking for extradition back to Mexico.
El Chapo’s own defense team says the letters are fake — the envelopes were postmarked in Mississippi, not Colorado where he is locked up.
A federal judge threw out the first five letters, calling them legally worthless and saying they “make no sense.”

El Chapo’s Lawyer Makes a Bombshell Claim

Gerardo Rincón Flores, the Mexican attorney representing Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, announced he plans to hand U.S. authorities a dossier naming 32 officials he says were linked to narco corruption. His claim goes further — he alleges that people connected to organized crime held positions inside the administration of former Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, widely known as AMLO. If the dossier holds up, it would be one of the most serious corruption allegations tied to a recent Mexican government.

This is not the first time cartel-connected figures have pointed fingers at Mexican officials. El Chapo’s rival, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, the other top Sinaloa Cartel boss, has also made waves with his own letters and legal filings in U.S. courts. The pattern is clear: cartel leaders sitting in American prisons are increasingly trying to drag Mexican political figures into their legal battles — and some of those claims are backed by enough detail to demand attention.

Fake Letters Flood a Federal Court

While the lawyer’s corruption claims are grabbing headlines, a separate mystery has been unfolding at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, New York. More than 20 handwritten letters — all claiming to be from El Chapo — have arrived at the court where he was convicted in 2019. The letters ask for extradition back to Mexico and complain about unfair treatment. One letter, dated April 23, 2026, states: “I’m asking the District courts of my rights to be request back to my country.”

There is a major problem with the letters, though. El Chapo is locked up at the United States Penitentiary Administrative Maximum Facility — known as ADX Florence — in Colorado, one of the most secure prisons on earth. His own defense attorney, Mariel Colón Miró, says flatly: “They’re not him… We have an investigation into who is sending them. It’s somebody crazy.” She also pointed out that the envelopes were postmarked in Jackson, Mississippi — not Colorado. A U.S. law enforcement source called the letters “complete bull—” and said they were “probably someone mentally ill.”

Judge Throws Out the Requests

Federal Judge Brian Cogan did not waste time. He denied the first five letters in a May 4, 2026 order, writing that the documents “make no sense and none of them have any legal merit.” There is also no legal path for El Chapo to simply be sent back to Mexico. Moving a convicted federal inmate of his profile would require a formal prisoner transfer agreement approved by both governments — and no such deal exists.

Gerardo Rincón, the lawyer for Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, announced that he will deliver a dossier to U.S. authorities detailing the alleged involvement of 32 Mexican politicians in acts of corruption and ties to criminal organizations. In an interview with journalist Azucena… pic.twitter.com/TS1ipXD7vn

— Cartel Watch (@CartelWatchNet) July 8, 2026

Mexico’s current president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has set a high bar on her end too. She has said her government will only act on U.S. extradition requests involving officials if given “solid and irrefutable evidence” that meets Mexican law. That cautious stance reflects just how politically explosive these cartel-linked corruption claims are in Mexico — and how carefully both governments are moving. Meanwhile, El Chapo stays right where he is: locked in a maximum-security cell, serving a life sentence, with no legal exit in sight. The real story worth watching is whether the lawyer’s promised dossier on those 32 officials ever lands — and what the U.S. does with it.