'El Chapo' attorneys to appeal U.S. extradition

MEXICO CITY, May 28 (UPI) -- Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's attorneys are working to block his extradition to the United States after it was approved by the Mexican government.

Claiming the extradition was unconstitutional, attorneys Juan Pablo Badillo Soto and Jose Luis Gonzalez Meza said in a press conference Friday they turned in the appeal to Mexico's Supreme Court, according to TeleSur.

The attorneys accused Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, Government Secretary Miguel Angel Osorio and Foreign Secretary Claudia Ruiz Massieu of "trampling" on the country's established laws outlined in its constitution, the Latin American Herald Tribune reported.

Earlier Friday, Mexico's Foreign Ministry announced its approval of Guzman's transfer to the United States to face courts in Texas and California. He also faces charges in Chicago, New York and Miami.

Guzman's defense attorneys are now fighting the decision, even after their client several months ago expressed an eagerness to be sent to the United States due to unfavorable prison conditions in Mexico. In March, his lawyer Jose Refugio Rodriguez Nunez asserted his client wanted extradition "in an act of desperation," saying Guzman was undergoing "mental and physical torture," at the time.

At one point, Guzman offered to accept extradition in exchange for housing in a medium-security prison, despite his two successful prison escapes in the past.