New York-based Mexican drug lord Joaquin „El Chapo“ Guzman must not embrace his wife. Judge Brian Cogan denied the defendant’s request yesterday because any physical contact violated strict security standards.
The 61-year-old Guzman had requested to welcome and embrace his wife Emma Coronel on Tuesday before the beginning of the opening remarks. Although Judge Cogan praised the exemplary behavior of the defendant in court and in custody, but referred to the particularly strict security requirements set for Guzman. This should be prevented any attempt Guzman plan an outbreak or attack.
Twice out of prison
The drug lord had twice escaped from prison in Mexico before being reinstated and extradited to the United States in January 2017. There he sits in solitary confinement and is not allowed to communicate with his wife. The 29-year-old former beauty queen is the mother of Guzman’s seven-year-old twins.
The drug lord must be responsible in the US, among other things for drug smuggling, arms trafficking and money laundering. According to the indictment, the Mexican Sinaloa cartel under his leadership is said to have smuggled nearly 155 tons of cocaine and large quantities of other drugs into the United States between 1989 and 2014. Guzman threatens life imprisonment in a high security prison. In the four-month trial, the jury was selected this week.
