Children of El Chapo set up an improvised school in Mexico for families without access to virtual

A teacher helps her students in a classroom of the makeshift school built by the children of the former drug lord, 'El Chapo' Guzmán. Photo: REUTERS. Este contenido ha sido publicado originalmente por Diario EL COMERCIO en la siguiente dirección: https://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/hijos-chapo-escuela-improvisada-mexico.html. Si está pensando en hacer uso del mismo, por favor, cite la fuente y haga un enlace hacia la nota original de donde usted ha tomado este contenido. ElComercio.com

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Children of the Mexican exnarcotraficante Joaquin El Chapo Guzman helped build a makeshift school near the northern Mexican city of Culiacan for families without access to online classes during the pandemic of covid-19. Now that meets life sentence in a prison in the United States El Chapo still is revered by some as a popular hero fallen and benefactor in his home state of Sinaloa , despite the large number of people killed by the cartel drug that headed. Some sons of the former are following in his footsteps and have risen through the ranks of the Sinaloa cartel , heading a new branch of the gang, known as Los Chapitos .

Last year, they made headlines around the world and raised the reputation of family outlaws when they besieged the Sinaloan capital Culiacán to force the police to release Ovidio Guzmán, one of his brothers. Esmeralda Quiñonez community leader of an irregular settlement called Bicentennial Extension, north of the state capital, said that some children of El Chapo contacted her to ask what was most needed in the area and they set up a makeshift school in just a few days.

Quiñonez said, Thank God the note reached the ears of the sons of Chapo Guzmán and they showed solidarity and helped us build here.

Reuters was unable to contact the children from El Chapo for comment . The Sinaloa government did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Juan Mejía, the state education secretary who visited the school last week told Reuters that the relevant authorities will have to find out who equipped the school. Nonetheless, he praised the community's efforts at the education center, saying it was incredible work during a difficult time in the midst of a pandemic .

Decorated with the initials JGL by Joaquín Guzmán Loera name of the excavation, the installationIt has study materials, books, as well as televisions, computers and the internet. Quiñonez said uniforms and shoes were also provided. Many children from the impoverished neighborhood stopped studying when schools closed due to the pandemic , locals said. The schools remain closed throughout Mexico .

Families often live off what parents earn by working in the vast nearby landfill, in homes with no internet connection or places that allow their children to follow online and televised classes broadcast by Mexican education authorities during the pandemic.

Quiñonez said, the idea is that children can learn while their parents are working in the landfill, and that they also do not worry about food, which has motivated dozens of parents to send their children to this temporary school.