Lawyer for 'El Chapo' Guzmán claims torture

A lawyer for Mexican drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán said Monday he will argue that his client has been the victim of torture.

Attorney José Refugio Rodríguez said the convicted Sinaloa cartel boss' legal team has submitted evidence of alleged abusive treatment of Guzmán in prison.

"Cruel and unusuve complained in the past that he is not being allowed to sleep, mix with other prisoners or receive enough visits. They said that caused him anxiety and eal treatment is torture," Rodríguez said.

Guzmán's lawyers halevated his blood pressure to dangerous levels.

The government says special security measures are needed following Guzmán's escape from the maximum-security Altiplano prison near Mexico City in 2015, when he fled through a mile-long tunnel dug to the floor of his shower. That was his second prison break.

After Guzmán was recaptured in January, prison authorities woke him every few hours for head counts but later softened that security procedure.

Lawyers have filed appeals seeking to prevent Guzmán's extradition to the United States, where he faces drug-trafficking, money-laundering, weapons and murder charges.

A hearing on those appeals was expected later Monday, but Rodríguez said the torture allegations are not part of that.

Guzmán is currently being held in a federal prison on the outskirts of Ciudad Juárez, which borders El Paso, Texas.