Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman closer to U.S. extradition

MEXICO CITY, Oct. 21 (UPI) -- A Mexican federal judge rejected two of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's remaining injunctions against extradition to the United States, meaning the notorious drug lord only has one appeals process to attempt, Mexico's attorney general said.

Three injunctions filed by Guzman's defense were previously dismissed.

"The Public Prosecutor's Office was notified of five resolutions issued by the Thirteenth District Court of Criminal Matters Appeals in Mexico City, on the judgments of appeals filed by Joaquin Guzman Loera against the resolutions issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in which his extradition is granted," the Attorney General of Mexico said in a statement Thursday. "In two of them the court decided to deny protection and protection of federal justice, while the remaining three were discontinued."

Mexico's Attorney General's Office vowed to continue working to extradite Guzman, adding it would "remain attentive to the continuation of the procedure until these resolutions are firm." If Guzman's last options for appeals is rejected after his lawyers file it in his defense, authorities would begin formal extradition efforts.

Guzman's Sinaloa Cartel is credited with dominating the illegal drug market in nearly the entire United States. "El Chapo" -- meaning "The Short One" or "shorty" -- so dubbed because of his 5-foot-6-inch frame, was detained in Guatemala in 1993 and then extradited to Mexico to face murder and drug trafficking charges.

Guzman escaped from prison in 2001 by hiding in a laundry cart after bribing prison guards, and was re-captured in February 2014. He was again captured in the city of Los Mochis in his home state of Sinaloa on Jan. 8 after escaping from Mexico's Altiplano Federal Prison on July 11.