Mica for cartelinsider.com
Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán is not the only one trying to nullify the trial for which he was convicted. Carlos Manuel Hoo Ramírez, who was a secretary and bodyguard of the former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, filed a petition for review before the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN), claiming that in the trial for which he was sentenced to prison, testimonies from processes in which he was not involved were used. But, what was he accused of?
As reported by Infobae Mexico, on the afternoon of January 8, 2024, the country’s highest court announced that the appeal filed by Hoo Ramirez, also known as ‘El Condor’, will be analyzed by Justice Margarita Rios Farjat.
In the document, as stated by the authorities, Hoo Ramirez challenges article 41 of the Law against Organized Crime, arguing that the former Attorney General’s Office violated the right to a hearing, defense, contradiction and due process by authorizing “the use of final judgments issued in criminal proceedings in which the defendant was not a party.”
With this, ‘El Cóndor’ seeks to appeal the sentence of 10 years in prison and the payment of a fine of 250 days of salary that was imposed on October 13, 2017 for the crime of organized crime; three years and eight months after being arrested alongside ‘El Chapo’.
Carlos Manuel Hoo Ramirez was born on October 15th, 1978 in Los Mochis, Sinaloa. At just 18 years old, he enlisted in the Mexican Armed Forces and later became a member of the Airborne Special Forces Group (GAFE) of the Army.
“‘El Cóndor’ left the ranks of the Army in September 2000, citing family issues. However, according to Edgar Manuel López Osorio, alias ‘El Picudo’ ―another former military member who was part of Guzmán Loera’s inner circle―, he was recruited by the Sinaloa Cartel that same year.”
Due to his experience, he was appointed chief of communications and personal bodyguard to ‘El Chapo’, who had just regained his freedom after escaping from the Puente Grande prison in Jalisco. This way, Hoo Ramirez managed to remain as one of the highest-ranking members of said criminal organization for several years. But everything comes to an end.
On February 22, 2014, members of the Mexican Navy detained him along with Guzmán Loera on the fourth floor of the Hotel Miramar, located in the tourist area of Mazatlán, Sinaloa.
According to an article published by The New Yorker, Hoo Ramirez was responsible for his own downfall, as Mexican and American authorities had intercepted the signal from his cell phone in order to locate him.
It was revealed that, when the Marines arrived at the building, they did not expect to find ‘El Chapo’, but only ‘El Cóndor’, who was guarding the door of apartment 401 with an AK-47 rifle.
The trial against him formally began on March 7, 2014 under the leadership of a federal judge from the State of Mexico.
Before processing the writ of amparo, Hoo Ramirez also filed a legal recourse through which he claimed the lack of medical attention at ‘El Altiplano’, where he is currently incarcerated.
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Mica
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