Donald Trump wants to reopen the infamous prison of Alcatraz to deal with that he regards as the meanest and nastiest members of organised crime in the US, but who could this mean?
It was always where they put the most notorious gangsters.
Al Capone, ‘Machine Gun’ Kelly (not that one), James ‘Whitey’ Bulger. You name it, Alcatraz has been home to some of the meanest gangsters in the US penal system. And now it could be coming back.
Donald Trump this week announced orders to reopen the famous island site in the San Francisco Bay in California as a prison.
It has been closed since 1963 thanks to it costing loads, but now Trump says he wants it back open to house the “vicious, violent, and repeat Criminal Offenders, the dregs of society, who will never contribute anything other than Misery and Suffering,” and the “most dangerous criminals”.
It’s fair to say the original concept for the prison very similar to Trump’s vision for Alcatraz 2.0, one filled again with some of the most notorious gang members in US custody.
There’s quite a list on that front, with some of the most notorious killers and cartel members in the business currently serving at Trump’s pleasure.
Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán
There’s only one man at the top of the bill: El Chapo.
The 68-year-old is one of the most notorious Mexican drug lords of all time. Netflix has made a TV show about the former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, who is at current standing thought to be ultimately responsible for the deaths of around 34,000.
He’s serving life, but prior to this was thought to be among the most influential movers of drugs globally. He’s also earned a reputation as an escape artist, managing a pair of jail breaks since 2001.
Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada-Garcia
A top captain in El Chapo’s Sinaloa Cartel, El Mayo would later rise to the top of the crime network, but earned his reputation as the logistics man for one of its main branches.
He featured on America’s most Wanted with a $5million bounty on his head for any information about his whereabouts. He’s awaiting trial in the US after he was arrested at an American airfield alongside another famous Guzmán: Joaquín Guzmán López, the son of El Chapo.
Joaquín Guzmán López
The apple of El Chapo’s eye is another high-ranking Sinaloa Cartel member in US custody who could feasibly end up at Trump’s reimagined Alcatraz. He, like El Mayo, has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.
One of those charges could carry the death penalty.
Rafael Caro Quintero
Co-founder the now-disintegrated Guadalajara Cartel, Quintero went by names such as “El Narco de Narcos” and “El Número 1”. He was extradited to the US from Mexico along with 28 other drug figures to be tried.
He is connected to the death of a DEA agents and an American writer, and was added to the FBI’s Most Wanted list in 2018.
Antonio Oseguera Cervantes
Another name in the 29 taken over from Mexican to US custody in February 2025, Oseguera Cervantes and reportedly helped to lead the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
He is facing up to life in prison, according to the US Justice Department, and is thought to be the brother of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, who goes by the name “El Mencho,” the leader of Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
Whether or not the prison does get reopened remains to be seen – there has already been opposition – as does whether or not these leading figures of the Cenrtral America-US trade end up there. Either way, the idea is nothing short surreal.
By staronline@reachplc.com (Harry Thompson)
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