Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, the once-untouchable leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, is now sending desperate handwritten pleas from what can only be described as a modern-day hell. That hell is ADX Florence, a supermax prison in Colorado, also known as the "Alcatraz of the Rockies." This isn't just a prison; it's a concrete fortress designed to erase the most dangerous criminals from the world.
Before the handwritten letter where "El Chapo" Guzmán implores a judge for access to his lawyer, there is the place that motivated it: the Administrative Maximum Security Penitentiary (ADX) Florence, in Colorado. This is not just a detention center; it is a fortress of concrete and silence designed to erase the most dangerous criminals in the United States from the world.
A Glimpse Inside ADX Florence: The Alcatraz of the Rockies
ADX Florence is notorious for its extreme isolation. Guzmán spends 23 hours a day in his cell, a small concrete box measuring approximately 6 by 10 feet. The cell is soundproofed to prevent communication with other inmates. The furniture is all made of concrete and permanently affixed to the floor: a slab serving as a bed, a small desk, and a stool. This is to prevent them from being used as weapons or escape tools.
The only window is a narrow slit, just a few inches wide, offering a view of only a sliver of the sky and the roof of the building. This sensory deprivation is a deliberate strategy to disorient and psychologically break down the inmate.
Life Inside a Concrete Tomb
Guzmán's cell is the epicenter of his isolation. For 23 hours a day, “El Chapo” Guzmán lives in a space of approximately 2 by 3 meters, built with reinforced and soundproofed concrete to prevent any communication. The furniture is immovable, also made of concrete: a slab that serves as a bed, a small desk and a stool, all fixed to the floor to prevent them from being used as weapons or escape tools.
- 23 hours a day in solitary confinement.
- Concrete cell with minimal furnishings.
- Sensory deprivation tactics.
The letter, a mixture of formal respect and despair, cannot be understood without knowing the reality of his confinement: a regime of psychological annihilation where every detail is designed for absolute control and total isolation.