On Monday, the mammoth trial against the Mexican drug boss Joaquin „El Chapo“ Guzman in the final stages. Twelve jurors discuss in which of the ten counts Guzman is guilty. Guzman’s lawyer pleaded for acquittal. But now documents have been published, the „El Chapo“ heavy burden.
Guzman’s longtime collaborator Alex Cifuentes apparently told the authorities that the drug lord drugged and raped young girls, some as young as 13 years old. One woman sent Guzman photos of the girls and asked for $ 5,000 for each of them from „El Chapo“. Cifuentes is said to have helped Guzman to give the girls a „powdery substance“.
However, during his four-day testimony in the trial, which ended Thursday after three months, Cifuentes had said nothing of the sort. Guzman’s lawyer Eduardo Balarezo said by email that his client denies Cifuentes‘ „allegations.“ For them there is „no confirmation“. The statements were so „implausible“ that they had not been introduced into the proceedings. It was „unfortunate“ that they had been made public so shortly before the deliberations of the jury.
Defense demanded acquittal
The defense has demanded an acquittal for „El Chapo“. The star lawyer Jeffrey Lichtman attacked in his closing plea especially the witnesses of the indictment of Jorge and Alex Cifuentes. They claimed to have supplied long-term cocaine to Guzman before working with the US Department of Justice. The former boss of the notorious Sinaloa cartel was arrested in Mexico and handed over to the US in early 2017, where he sits in a high security prison.
Guzman is charged with „involvement in a criminal organization“, among other things. On this point Guzman threatens life imprisonment with the possibility to apply for probation only after 20 years. The other charges center around the production and international distribution of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana, as well as the use of firearms and money laundering. The points for the production of the drugs mentioned are subject to minimum prison sentences of ten years.
Prison sentence may take time
Prosecutor Andrea Goldbarg, on the other hand, had demanded a conviction on all counts. She and her colleagues summoned 56 people to the witness stand over a period of eleven weeks and submitted a great deal of evidence. According to the indictment, under Guzman’s leadership, the Sinaloa cartel allegedly smuggled nearly 155 tons of cocaine and large quantities of other drugs into the United States between 1989 and 2014. In a conviction, Judge Brian Cogan could immediately or days or weeks later announce the sentence for the 61-year-olds.
Guzman’s 29-year-old wife, Emma Coronel, a former beauty queen, has repeatedly appeared in the process. The twin daughters of the two had brought her to hearings. On Thursday, Guzman appeared in a blue blazer with a tie in the hall and got up to wave to the audience with a smile. Just over a week ago, when Mexican actor Alejandro Edda unexpectedly turned up for the trial, Guzman smiled and waved. The reason: The actor slips in the TV series „Narcos: Mexico“ in the role of „El Chapo“.
With heart racing and sweaty hands, he has Guzman in the eye, said the 34-year-old Edda the „New York Daily News“. „He looked at me and waved to me,“ said Edda, who traveled from Mexico to the „surreal“ moment. He later met Guzman’s wife Coronel and Guzman’s defender. According to the report, Edda said Guzman was guilty and must be convicted.
