(MEXICO NEWS DAILY) — “El Chapo” Guzman, one of Mexico’s most famous drug lords, is on his way to face criminal charges in the United States, the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs has announced.

Joaquín Guzmán, former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, was removed from his cell at a Federal Prison in Ciudad Juárez this afternoon in preparation for extradition to the U.S.

A statement released by the Foreign Affairs Secretariat said a court decided today to reject a request for an amparo, or legal protection, against extradition.

“. . . today, the government of the republic handed over Mr. Guzmán to the authorities of the Unites States of America,” the statement said.

The newspaper Milenio reported that the former cartel boss had been transferred from Cefereso No. 9 in Juárez to that city’s international airport to be flown to the U.S.

CNN reported that it had been told by a U.S. official that Mexican authorities had planned to hand Guzmán over before tomorrow’s inauguration of president-elect Donald Trump.

Government officials said last fall they expected the hand-over to take place early this year. January marks the first anniversary of Guzman’s capture in Sinaloa, six months after a spectacular escape through a 1.5-kilometer tunnel from the Altiplano federal prison in the State of México.

He had been in custody since February 14 when he was arrested in Mazatlán.

In the U.S. he will face charges of money laundering, drug trafficking, kidnapping and murder.

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