Federal Judge Orders Immediate Medical Treatment for Sinaloa Cartel Co-Founder El Güero Palma at Altiplano Prison

Federal judge Daniel Marcelino Niño Jiménez of the Fourth District Court of the State of Mexico issued an amparo injunction on April 18, 2026, ordering immediate medical attention for Héctor Manuel 'El Güero' Palma Salazar, the historic co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel, currently incarcerated at Altiplano maximum-security prison. Palma reported suffering from three herniated discs causing severe chronic pain, as well as an undiagnosed skin condition requiring oncology evaluation — specialized treatment he had not received for approximately two years despite requests. The judge found that the denial of medical care posed a risk to his physical integrity, granting the amparo (constitutional protection). El Güero Palma, who co-founded the Sinaloa Cartel alongside Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo and Amado Carrillo Fuentes in the 1980s, was convicted in Mexico of organized crime and firearms charges and has spent decades in maximum-security detention. His case drew attention amid the broader fragmentation of the cartel he helped create.