Electrocution, kidnapping, asphyxiation, and the threat to gang rape and murder close family members are just some of the few things Jesus Raul Beltran-Leon, an old aide of El Chapo, is accusing Mexican and U.S. drug investigators of.
In a case file containing up to 16 detailed cases by Beltran-Leon’s attorneys, military authority is held responsible for the alleged torture of male and female drug suspects. Beltran-Leon wants nothing more than for the government to cough up evidence related to the psychological and physical torture he was subject to while in Mexican custody at the behest of the United States.
The clues pointing towards this are plentiful, or so he claims. Ranging from a variety of English-speaking Americans taking part in his home’s raid and getting questioned in Spanish with a thick American accent about the whereabouts of Joaquin Guzman Loera’s two sons.
Other similar cases have been investigated and verified by the Mexican National Commission on Human Rights. They’ve singled out U.S investigators not only for being complicit, but of providing funding, vehicles, equipment, and training to Mexican Navy SEMAR.
“My abductors held me down, placed plastic bags over my face, and began to asphyxiate me while others punched me in the abdomen, which forced the air in my lungs to expel faster,” recounted Beltran-Leon in a court affidavit on Thursday.
His attorney went on to narrate how Mexican marines burst into Beltran-Leon’s home with guns drawn, seizing him, his wife and his infant daughter. He also said they were threatening to rape his wife and kill his other family members.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. attorney’s office have declined to comment. Beltran-Leon was extradited to Chicago in January to face charges related to El Chapo and drug dealing.
This article was inspired by ABC7Chicago // El Chapo aide held in Chicago outlines widespread Mexican torture