El Chapo appears in court and smiles at his wife

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Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman was taken to U.S. federal court in a 12-car motorcade Friday morning that shut down the Brooklyn Bridge for 15 minutes
During the court appearance, lawyers for the Mexican drug lord complained that conditions at the Manhattan jail are too strict
They say he is being locked in a cell for 23 hours a day and is being denied visits with his wife and Mexican lawyer
The judge declined to rule on El Chapo's concerns
His next court appearance will be in May

By Associated Press and Dailymail.com Reporter

Published: 11:06 EST, 3 February 2017 | Updated: 13:27 EST, 3 February 2017

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Lawyers for Mexican drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman are complaining that his New York City jail conditions are too strict.

Guzman, who has broke out of maximum security prisons in his home country twice, appeared Friday in U.S. federal court in Brooklyn.

El Chapo's strict jail conditions were outlined on Friday by his defense attorneys in a failed bid to get a judge to loosen them.

They say he's on 23-hour lockdown, can't visit with his wife or Mexican lawyer, and has even been denied water by his jailers on occasion.

Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, left, is shown with an interpreter in this courtroom sketch in the Brooklyn borough of New York City on Friday

During the hearing, El Chapo's lawyers complained that he was on 23-hour lockdown at his Manhattan prison. From row, left to right: defense attorneys Michael Schneider and Michelle Gelernt, El Chapo and his translator

Authorities shut down the Brooklyn Bridge for 15 minutes during the morning rush hour so that El Chapo could be transported to federal court

The wife, Emma Coronel Aispuro, sat in the front of the gallery during Guzman's court appearance. He looked at her and smiled.

Guzman smiled at his wife as he was led into the Brooklyn courtroom under heavy guard by deputy U.S. marshals at his second court appearance since being brought to the United States on Janunary 19.

'This was so far the only way she has been able to see him,' defense attorney Michelle Gelernt said afterward with a silent Coronel at her side.

El Chapo's wife, Emma Coronel Aispuro, exits the court house on Friday after attending her husband's first hearing

El Chapo's wife addressed reporters after the hearing on Friday

Guzman, 59, has pleaded not guilty to charges of running a massive drug trafficking operation that laundered billions of dollars and oversaw murders and kidnappings.

He's being held at a high-security federal jail in Manhattan, with U.S. officials mindful of how he twice escaped from prison in Mexico, the second time via a mile-long tunnel dug to the shower in his cell.

When he was transported to the court during the morning commute, authorities shut down the Brooklyn Bridge for 15 minutes so that the drug lord could be moved in a 12-car caravan. They did the same thing for the ride back into Manhattan later in the day.

The bridge was shut down again as El Chapo was taken back into the city after the hearing Friday morning

Defense lawyers complained to U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan on Friday that the restrictions make it difficult for him to make decisions with them about how to fight the charges. They claimed his jailers are so zealous, they denied him water during a recent meeting with the defense team.

'I don't think there's any thought that if I have the guards give him a glass of water during a three-hour meeting that somehow that's going to effectuate his escape,' Gelernt told reporters outside court.

But Cogan, after alluding to having secret correspondence with the government about the risks of guarding Guzman, told the defense he wouldn't weigh in on the jail conditions.

'Based on what I know about this case, there are grounds for extra security measures,' the judge said, with Guzman listening through a Spanish interpreter.

Guzman is due back in court on May 5.