Mexican Lawyer previously associated with Chapo, now appointed to Judicial Position
Getting a Controversial Charge in a Border City
In the hotbed of crime known as Ciudad Juarez, Silvia Delgado, a sprightly 51-year-old, is stepping into the big leagues. She's been elected as a judge on the local criminal court, with results from the June 1 election confirming her new role.
Delgado snagged the second-highest vote among the five women elected to the bench in the northern Chihuahua state. The five male judges whom she shares the honor with can't shake off the shadows cast by her candidacy, making it one of the most controversial elections in the region.
Her controversial past as part of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán's legal team sets her apart from the rest. Guzmán, the co-founder of the notorious Sinaloa Cartel, was held in Ciudad Juarez prior to his extradition to the United States in 2017. Defending such a high-profile criminal has caused quite a stir, but Delgado remains unperturbed.
She defends her role, asserting that every person should have the right to counsel. She leveraged her experience with Guzmán to convince voters of her capabilities, but critics aren't buying it.
Delgado was one of around 20 "high-risk" candidates identified by the rights group Defensorxs. The label stems from allegations of cartel links, corruption, and sexual abuse. The Sinaloa Cartel itself was designated a terrorist organization by US President Donald Trump in February.
The election in question will make Mexico the world's solitary nation to choose all its judges by popular vote. The implications of Delgado's election raise concerns about the legitimacy of the judiciary and the erosion of democratic checks and balances. Critics warn that asking citizens to elect judges leaves them more vulnerable to criminal influence.
Mexicans cast their votes to elect 881 federal judges, including nine members of the Supreme Court, as well as hundreds of local judges and magistrates. The remainder of the judiciary will be elected in 2027. Despite the concerns, the electoral process proceeded, and Silvia Delgado opens a new chapter to her career as a judge near Ciudad Juarez. Whether her past will come back to haunt her in her new role remains to be seen.
© 2025 AFP
In the United States, the controversy surrounding Silvia Delgado's election as a judge in Ciudad Juarez has made general news, with politics and crime-and-justice being key topics of discussion. Silvia Delgado's association with Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, a drug lord who was once held in Ciudad Juarez and later extradited to the United States, has cast a long shadow over her election, causing concerns about the legitimacy of the judiciary and the erosion of democratic checks and balances in Mexico.
