Lawyer: ‘El Chapo’ could be transferred from Juarez area prison back to central Mexico

A Mexican judge has issued an injunction that could send drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman from a prison in the Juarez area back to the Altiplano, the maximum security prison from which he previously escaped outside Mexico City, one of his lawyers said.

Lawyer Jose Refugio Rodriguez said the government could appeal the decision and it could take three months to resolve.

Guzman was recaptured in January and initially placed back in the Altiplano prison. However, authorities transferred him in May to a federal prison south of Juarez, saying security measures were being improved at Altiplano.

The cartel leader is awaiting extradition to the U.S. and his lawyers complained that the new location made it difficult for them to remain in contact with their client.

“For both his legal team and his family, it will be easier to see him in Toluca (in Mexico state) than it is to see him in Ciudad Jurez,” Refugio said in an interview with El Universal.

Guzman heads Mexico’s powerful Sinaloa cartel. On Tuesday, authorities in Jalisco state announced that his son was among six people abducted from a restaurant in Puerto Vallarta.

When asked if he had spoken with El Chapo about the kidnapping, Refugio told El Universal, “That is none of my business. (Guzman) did not mention it. It is a personal problem and a lamentable situation.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.