On Dec. 1, 2024, a website called The Borowitz Report published an article claiming that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump had nominated Mexican former drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán as U.S. ambassador to Mexico.
The Borowitz Report's article read as follows:
Trump Names El Chapo Ambassador to Mexico
Donald J. Trump raised eyebrows in diplomatic circles on Saturday by naming the former drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman U.S. ambassador to Mexico.
Trump told reporters that the appointment of El Chapo was consistent with his policy of surrounding himself with "only the best people."
When asked about El Chapo's ten felony convictions, Trump said, "I wish he had more, but I still think he's qualified."
Trump's plan hit a snag, however, when El Chapo turned down the post, stating that it would be "embarrassing to serve in the same administration as Dr. Oz."
Copies of the report also appeared on X, where one post (archived) had amassed more than 350,000 views as of this writing.
PALM BEACH (The Borowitz Report 11/30): "Donald J. Trump raised eyebrows in diplomatic circles on Saturday by naming the former drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman U.S. ambassador to Mexico.
When asked about El Chapo's ten felony convictions, Trump said, 'I wish he had more, but…— Laurence Tribe ?? ⚖️ (@tribelaw) December 1, 2024
Some readers seemed to interpret the rumor as a factual recounting of real-life events. However, there was no evidence that Trump had, in fact, nominated El Chapo as U.S. ambassador to Mexico. Likewise, no credible news outlets had reported on such a story.
At the time of this publication, Guzmán was serving a life sentence plus 30 years for his leadership role in the Sinaloa Cartel, a Mexican organized-crime syndicate.
The rumor about Trump's alleged appointment originated with The Borowitz Report — a newsletter that describes its output as being humorous or satirical in nature. On its About page, the author, Andy Borowitz, describes himself as a comedian who has "been writing satirical news" since he was 18. He added:
In 2001, I started emailing made-up news stories to friends. One suggested that creating a "website" would make it easier to "blast" my "posts." Soon, The Borowitz Report was live at BorowitzReport.com, and my free newsletter was reaching untold dozens of people.
The Borowitz Report has a history of making up stories for shares and comments, and the author is a well-known satirist. He describes himself as a comedian on his Facebook page.
Snopes has addressed similar satirical claims made by The Borowitz Report in the past, including the assertion that Trump rejected female jurors for not being "his type" and a rumor that Queen Elizabeth II offered to restore British rule over the United States.
For background, here is why we alert readers to rumors created by sources that call their output humorous or satirical.