The 'El Chapo' Trial
Last November the "unprecedented" trial of Mexican drug lord Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman began in the federal courts of Brooklyn. The co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel faces a 17-count indictment on charges of shipping heroin, cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamine to the US, to which he pleaded not guilty in January 2017.
Being possibly the most notorious cartel kingpin to ever live, security was tightened for his trial, with law enforcement taking no chances. Bomb-sniffing dogs, metal detectors and a body of officers will decorate the courthouses of the famous jail-breaker. He had managed to escape out of two Mexican prisons before he was captured and extradited to the United States from Mexico on January 19, 2017.
A close guard is also being kept on the jurors and witnesses, since 'El Chapo' is known to intimidate witnesses and order their murders. Judge Brian M. Cogan, who is in charge of picking out the jurors, is being extremely selective. He dismissed 27 out of 60 potential jurors during jury-selection, most because they feared for their safety and some for relatively bizarre reasons. The ones who were chosen are all to be kept anonymous and are under armed protection from the US army.
However, some of the witnesses are very well-known including, Vicente 'El Mayito' Zambada Niebla, son of Sinaloa co-founder Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada, as well as the Flores twins, the biggest drug dealers in Chicago history. The 43-year old Zambada, was a former top lieutenant of the cartel, but who has now promised to cooperate with prosecutors under any circumstances, in hopes of a reduced sentence and protection for his family. After pleading guilty to trafficking charges in Chicago, 'El Mayito' has proved to be a major asset in Guzman's trial, as he would know details few others would.
The other star witnesses are Margarito and Pedro Flores, sons of a small-time drug dealer, who grew up in the trade after he was released from prison and managed to become the top dogs in the business. By their early twenties they were shipping drugs across country, and were big enough in the business to make deals without a middleman and with 'El Chapo' in person, who held them in high regard. This was key later on when the drug traffickers had turned into drug informants, who astoundingly managed to tape conversations with Guzman.
Being possibly the most notorious cartel kingpin to ever live, security was tightened for his trial, with law enforcement taking no chances. Bomb-sniffing dogs, metal detectors and a body of officers will decorate the courthouses of the famous jail-breaker. He had managed to escape out of two Mexican prisons before he was captured and extradited to the United States from Mexico on January 19, 2017.
A close guard is also being kept on the jurors and witnesses, since 'El Chapo' is known to intimidate witnesses and order their murders. Judge Brian M. Cogan, who is in charge of picking out the jurors, is being extremely selective. He dismissed 27 out of 60 potential jurors during jury-selection, most because they feared for their safety and some for relatively bizarre reasons. The ones who were chosen are all to be kept anonymous and are under armed protection from the US army.
However, some of the witnesses are very well-known including, Vicente 'El Mayito' Zambada Niebla, son of Sinaloa co-founder Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada, as well as the Flores twins, the biggest drug dealers in Chicago history. The 43-year old Zambada, was a former top lieutenant of the cartel, but who has now promised to cooperate with prosecutors under any circumstances, in hopes of a reduced sentence and protection for his family. After pleading guilty to trafficking charges in Chicago, 'El Mayito' has proved to be a major asset in Guzman's trial, as he would know details few others would.
The other star witnesses are Margarito and Pedro Flores, sons of a small-time drug dealer, who grew up in the trade after he was released from prison and managed to become the top dogs in the business. By their early twenties they were shipping drugs across country, and were big enough in the business to make deals without a middleman and with 'El Chapo' in person, who held them in high regard. This was key later on when the drug traffickers had turned into drug informants, who astoundingly managed to tape conversations with Guzman.
"If you were triplets, you'd be the richest people on earth."
- El Chapo
If convicted 'El Chapo' could face a lifetime in jail. The case could last up to four months, and is not to be missed, as one of its magnitude has never been seen. The trial has chugged through a month of testimony with details of "lost cocaine shipments and the business aspects of running a drug trafficking ring provided by former head of the Colombian North Valley Cartel, Juan Carlos Ramirez Abadia, other cartel associates and several law enforcement witnesses who were involved in raids linked to the former Sinaloa Cartel head." Guzman's sons are reportedly running the business while the trial proceeds into its second month.
Comments
Post a Comment