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A US District Court dismissed an appeal from notorious drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman on Tuesday, maintaining his life imprisonment verdict from 2019.

The court, led by Judge Brian Cogan, invalidated Guzman’s claims for a retrial for crimes, including leading a vast criminal enterprise and multiple drug trafficking conspiracies. Judge Cogan directly addressed Guzman’s assertions in the court’s decision, stating, “The Petitioner has not demonstrated adequate grounds for the appointment of counsel, so that motion is denied. His habeas corpus petition is also without merit, and it is therefore also denied.”

In rejecting Guzman’s claim about the fairness of his plea agreement, Judge Cogan noted, “It is not realistic to think there was any chance of a plea agreement here.” He elaborated on Guzman’s situation’s improbability and gravity by adding, “This was perhaps the most notorious criminal prosecution of the decade… The top count of the indictment, the continuing criminal enterprise charge, of which Petitioner was convicted, itself carried a mandatory life sentence.”