Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador says he has instructed his government to assist convicted drug trafficker Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's family in seeking humanitarian visas to visit Guzman in the United States.

Lopez Obrador said Friday that during a visit last week to Guzman's hometown in Sinaloa state, a lawyer passed him a letter from Guzman's mother. Lopez Obrador says that she asked for legal and humanitarian support for her son.

Lopez Obrador was announcing a highway construction project in the area.

He says Guzman's mother asked for help in obtaining humanitarian visas for two of Guzman's sisters so they can visit him in prison.

Guzman was convicted Feb. 12 in federal court in New York on multiple drug trafficking and conspiracy charges and likely faces a life sentence.