El Chapo's former lawyer and an ex-drug smuggler on the ballot to be judges in Mexico

Silvia Delgado, former defense attorney for Sinaloa Cartel boss Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman in 2016 and current candidate for criminal judge, distributes campaign materials ahead of Mexico's first judicial elections, to be held on June 1, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, May 12, 2025. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (Reuters) -When residents in the state of Durango vote in Mexico's first judicial elections next weekend, Leopoldo Chavez will be on the ballot for federal judge - despite the nearly six years he served in a U.S. prison.

Chavez was convicted on drug offenses:for smuggling over 4 kilograms of methamphetamines in 2015. Durango is part of Mexico's Golden Triangle, a cartel-controlled region growing marijuana and opium poppies.