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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) reported that Joaquín Guzmán Loera, "El Chapo" was notified of his international extradition to the United States today. Loera is currently in a federal prison in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua.
He is required by a federal court in the Western District of Texas for conspiracy, drug-related crimes, weapons possession, murder and money laundering, among others.
The SRE pointed out that the U.S. authorities indicated that the death penalty will not be applied to Guzmán Loera.
The process can still be appealed, meaning it could be weeks or months before the Sinaloa cartel leader may be sent to the U.S., where he is wanted in multiple jurisdictions on charges related to drug trafficking and organized crime.
Guzmán Loera's lawyers now have 30 days to appeal the decision.
In all, Guzmán faces charges from seven U.S. federal prosecutors including in Chicago, New York, Miami and San Diego.
Earlier this week José Refugio Rodríguez, one of Guzman's lawyers, said that if the government approved extradition they would pursue an injunction.
"We are going to do it, but not right away, because it's a process you have to fight with arguments," he said. "We have 30 days."
Guzmán Loera was arrested in January after almost six months on the run following his escape from a maximum-security prison through a mile-long tunnel that opened to the floor of his shower.
He had already escaped once before in 2001 and spent more than a decade as one of the world's most wanted fugitives until he was recaptured in 2014.
After his latest capture, authorities returned him to the same Altiplano lockup where he had pulled off his brazen tunnel escape. They said they had reinforced the prison's security.
But earlier this month, authorities suddenly transferred Guzmán Loera to a prison on the outskirts of Ciudad Juárez, a move they said was due to work on improvements at Altiplano.
Rodríguez, the lawyer, is trying to get Guzmán Loera returned to Altiplano, arguing that the transfer hurt his defense because it's hundreds of miles away from the court handling the case.
He said a judge told them Guzmán Loera could be sent back to Altiplano if prison authorities determine the conditions are right.
Authorities have said Guzmán Loera can be held safely in Juárez where, like in Altiplano, he is under 24-hour surveillance through cameras in his cell and on the helmets of his guards.
(With information from AP)
