The Cefereso No. 9 is located just off the Pan-American highway about 14 miles (23 kilometers) south of downtown Juarez, in the middle of the barren, scorching Chihuahuan Desert. Other than a university campus about 2 miles (3 kilometers) to the east, there's hardly anything else for miles in any direction.

A lawyer for Guzman confirmed Saturday that his defense continues to fight extradition, and Mexican officials have said the process could take months or up to a year to reach a final ruling.

MEXICO CITY (AP) -- A federal judge has ruled that the extradition of drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman can move ahead, Mexico's Judicial Council said Monday. But the country's Foreign Relations Department must still approve it and the defense can appeal.

The council, which oversees Mexico's federal judges and tribunals, said the judge, who it did not name, had agreed that the legal requirements laid out in the extradition treaty between the two countries had been met.

The Foreign Relations Department has 20 days to decide whether to approve Guzman's extradition to the United States.