Overview

• Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán sent a handwritten letter on July 15 to Judge Brian Cogan alleging that ADX Florence officials had blocked all in-person, telephone and correspondence contact with his newly appointed lawyer José Israel Encinosa.
• Defense attorney José Israel Encinosa filed an August 11 notice confirming that the Bureau of Prisons has now authorized continuous attorney-client phone calls and in-person visits at the supermax facility.
• Judge Brian Cogan had instructed Guzmán to exhaust the Bureau’s administrative remedies before seeking court intervention on counsel access.
• ADX Florence enforces a severe isolation regimen with 23-hour cell confinement, limited outdoor time in a caged yard and strict controls on communications.
• Although two of Guzmán’s sons have recently entered guilty pleas, any suggestion that he is negotiating a cooperation deal remains unverified and it is unclear if his new counsel will pursue a different legal strategy.