A federal judge in Mexico State ordered immediate medical care for Héctor Palma Salazar, alias El Güero Palma, held in Altiplano prison. The drug trafficker reported a severe health decline due to herniated discs and skin cancer. The order aims to protect his right to health pending resolution of his habeas corpus petition.
Judge Daniel Marcelino Niño Jiménez of the Fourth District Court for Criminal Matters in Mexico State granted a provisional suspension following Palma Salazar's habeas corpus petition. The inmate stated he has been “very gravely ill” since April 13, when the medical staff at the Federal Center for Social Readaptation (CEFERESO) No. 1 in Almoloya de Juárez ignored his conditions.
Palma Salazar described three herniated discs in his spine affecting the sciatic nerve, causing intense pain while breathing in his back and chest, insomnia, and discomfort from the glute to the leg. He also suffers from skin cancer requiring annual checkups at Mexico City's Cancerology Hospital, which he has not attended for two years.
The ruling requires prison authorities to provide necessary medical services, treatments, and medications based on his clinical history. Palma remains imprisoned on qualified homicide charges linked to the November 2000 murder of Pablo de Tavira, despite acquittal on organized crime in May 2023.
El Güero Palma, co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel, was arrested in 1995 in Zapopan, Jalisco, extradited to the United States in 2007 where he served nine years of a 16-year sentence, and deported to Mexico in 2016.
