Lawyer for drug lord and cartel leader El Chapo elected judge in Mexico

A former defense attorney for imprisoned drug lord Joaquín Guzmán, nicknamed "El Chapo", has been elected as a judge in the first judicial election in Mexicoʼs history.

This is reported by the BBC.

Voting results released on June 17 showed that Silvia Delgado received enough votes to become a local criminal judge in the city of Ciudad Juarez, located on the US border.

The 51-year-old new judge was part of El Chapoʼs defense team before he was extradited from Mexico to the United States in 2017. He later went on trial, was convicted of drug trafficking in 2019, and sentenced to life in prison. El Chapo is serving his sentence in a maximum-security prison in Colorado.

Delgadoʼs candidacy was controversial in the June 1 elections. A leading transparency organization accused her of having alleged links to organized crime.

Delgado strongly denies the charges and claims she was only doing her job as a lawyer defending El Chapo. In a pre-election interview with the BBC, the woman stressed that the convict had the right to legal protection.

• The June judicial elections in Mexico were held as part of a sweeping reform initiated by the ruling Morena party. Supporters of the changes hope that direct elections of judges — including Supreme Court justices — will make the judicial system more democratic and accountable to voters. But critics say it undermines the independence of the judiciary.
• Turnout was just 13%, the lowest of any federal vote in the country. Observers said it showed a lack of interest from citizens. However, President Claudia Sheinbaum declared the election a success.

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