Mexican drugs lord El Chapo claims being 'tortured' by prison officers

Mexican drugs lord El Chapo has claimed he is being 'tortured' by prison officers leaving the light in his cell on at night. 

The cartel leader is awaiting extradition from Mexico to the United States after being recaptured on January 8 following his escape from prison. 

He has now lodged an official complaint about his treatment at the Altiplano maximum security prison, where he is being held. 

The complaint alleges the drugs baron has suffered 'psychological abuse' due to sleep deprivation, with his lawyer claiming he started waking up 'every hour' after authorities installed an all-night light.  

It comes just one day after it was reported the criminal boss - real name Joaquin Guzman - complained he is unable to sleep properly due to a 'boisterous guard dog' and hourly checkups.

Mexican newspaper La Jornada claimed the court is being asked to grant an application for the cessation of 'harassment'. The order is often granted to curb torture and cruel or degrading treatment as well as for cases of imminent exile.

El Chapo's lawyer, Jose Gonzalez, also revealed a text the crime boss had written to him where he claimed he had not been able to sleep at all.

El Chapo wrote: 'They wake me up to take the register every hour during the day and every two hours at night, and there is a dog next to me which barks a lot and stops me sleeping.'

His lawyer has also stated in the public declaration that El Chapo has not 'seen his family since before he was detained'.

He also puts this down to a 'complete lack of facilities, as there are no phones in the rooms'.

The president of Mexico, Enrique Pena Nieto, has explained that the State Attorney General for the republic is working to 'accelerate' the extradition of El Chapo to the U.S.

El Chapo is considered by the country's Department of the Treasury as the 'most powerful drug trafficker in the world'. 

He escaped from the maximum security jail in 2015 through a one mile tunnel, which burrowed up through the floor of the shower in his cell.

Officials claimed his meeting with actor Sean Penn was instrumental in leading them to his recapture, after facilitating an interview which was subsequently published in Rolling Stone magazine.