New York: US prosecutors want the Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman to spend the rest of his life in prison, after hearing from a victim who survived one of his murder plots.

Guzman, 62, faces a mandatory minimum of life in prison at his scheduled sentencing hearing next Wednesday, following his February conviction on a variety of drug charges.

In a Wednesday night letter, prosecutors asked US District Judge Brian Cogan in Brooklyn to add another 30 years because jurors convicted Guzman of illegally using a firearm, including a machine gun, in connection with drug trafficking.

Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, the head of Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel, following his capture in 2014. Credit:AP

Prosecutors also said Guzman conspired to murder "numerous" people as a leader of the Sinaloa Cartel over a quarter-century, and at least one target intends to make a "victim-impact statement" at the sentencing hearing.