Joachím “El Chapo” Guzmán found guilty on all charges
FILE – In this Jan. 19, 2017 file photo provided by U.S. law enforcement, authorities escort Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, center, from a plane to a waiting caravan of SUVs at Long Island MacArthur Airport, in Ronkonkoma, N.Y. U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan ruled Thursday, May 4, 2017, that Guzman needs to stay in solitary confinement at a New York City lockup to keep him from trying to control his drug-trafficking empire from behind bars. Cogan rejected a request by Guzman’s defense team to order him released from an ultrahigh-security wing of a jail in lower Manhattan and be allowed in the general inmate population and receive visitors. (U.S. law enforcement via AP, File)
Feb 13, 2019
A New York jury convicted notorious drug lord Joachím “El Chapo” Guzmán on 10 counts of drug trafficking Tuesday.
The jury found Guzmán guilty of (1) engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, (2) international cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana manufacture and distribution conspiracy, (3) cocaine importation conspiracy, (4) cocaine distribution conspiracy, (5-8) international distribution of cocaine, (9) use of firearms and (10) conspiracy to launder narcotics proceeds, according to The Associated Press.
Cocaine trafficking was also the subject of 24 separate violations covered under charge (1).
The verdict reached on the sixth day of jury deliberations could put the 61-year-old behind bars for the rest of his life in a high-security U.S. prison.
Guzmán, known internationally by his nickname El Chapo or “shorty,” since he stands at five and a half feet tall, is scheduled to be sentenced by the United States District Court in New York on June 25, according to The Associated Press.
Guzmán broke out of Mexican prisons twice before he was finally recaptured and extradited to the U.S. in 2017.
More than 50 witnesses testified against Guzmán in the last three months, claiming that his Sinaloa cartel in Northwestern Mexico sold billions of dollars of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana to clients in the U.S.
They detailed payoffs to powerful politicians, including former Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto, assassinations and drug smuggling techniques utilized by Guzmán’s cartel to increase profits and influence within the Mexican political system and within organized crime.
One of Guzmán’s former associates recalled workers packing cocaine into thousands of jalapeno cans, a technique that earned the cartel upwards of $500 million annually.
Another testified that Guzmán would occasionally perform torture and murder by himself to “turncoats” who left to work for other cartels. In one such incident, Guzmán kidnapped a man, beat and shot him and had him buried alive, according to The Associated Press.
The defense has accused the federal prosecution’s witnesses of making Guzmán a scapegoat for their own crimes.
Federal attorney Richard Donoghue called the conviction a “victory for the American people who suffered so much,” according to The Associated Press.
“It is a sentence from which there is no escape and no return,” Donoghue told a news conference outside the courthouse after the court adjourned.
Ray Donovan, head the of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New York office, said, “The real Chapo is a ruthless killer and manipulator,” alluding to his belief that the case did not adequately portray Guzmán’s actions as head of the Sinaloa cartel.
Defense attorney Jeffrey Lichtman said his team “fought like complete savages” and that he will appeal the case.
“No matter who the defendant is, you still have to fight to the death,” he said, according to The Associated Press.
Upon hearing the verdict, Guzmán was “as cool as a cucumber,” Lichtman added. “Honest to God, we were more upset than he was.”
As the verdict was read, Guzmán’s wife of 11 years, Emma Coronel Aispuro, sat quietly. When the court adjourned, the couple traded thumbs-ups.
Editor’s Note: Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
