*GUILTY* EL Chapo - Drug Cartel Chief, arrested Trafficking/conspiracy/firearms

[YESorNO]

Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 2h2 hours ago
There was some incorrect reporting earlier that Colon took the fifth when the judge asked her about the cellphone allegations. That's clarified in this order.

Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 2h2 hours ago
Judge Cogan says there's not enough to evidence to prove the claim that Colon facilitated contact between Chapo and his wife. However, he said her conduct shows "a flagrant disregard for the court's rules." She's no longer allowed to have a cellphone in the courthouse.

Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 2h2 hours ago
Colon was in the courtroom this morning, sitting with Emma Coronel and her daughters. One of the twins was sitting on Colon's lap. Judge Cogan essentially scolded Colon but stopped short of issuing serious punishment. She's still allowed to meet alone with Chapo.
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[YESorNO]

Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 2h2 hours ago
Speaking of Chapo and his wife, today Judge Cogan resolved a weird little drama involving cellphones and an accusation that Emma had illegally used one to send messages to Chapo during the trial in violation of his terms of imprisonment (which are very strict.)


Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 2h2 hours ago
It started before Thanksgiving when court security noticed Emma w/a phone in the the courthouse. (She's not supposed to have one.) The govt reviewed video & claimed that a defense lawyer, Mariel Colon, had given Emma the phone to communicate w/Chapo.


Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 2h2 hours ago
The way it supposedly worked, according to the govt, was that Emma was in the cafeteria sending messages to Mariel Colon while Mariel was w/Chapo on another phone in an attorney conference room.
But Judge Cogan found that likely did not happen.


Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 2h2 hours ago
The govt had asked the judge to sanction Mariel--that didn't happen either. But now court security is being stricter about phone privileges. (It's a slow day, testimony-wise...)
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[YESorNO]

Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 35m35 minutes ago
Even on a slow day, the Chapo trial never quite disappoints. After testimony about weapons seizures in El Paso and Colombia, prosecutors wheeled into the courtroom an evidence cart filled w/dozens of AK-47s and a hard case containing a rocket-propelled grenade launcher.


Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 33m33 minutes ago
An ATF firearms expert then demonstrated how the weapons worked for the jury. One juror, sleepy for weeks, was literally on the edge of his seat. Others, seemed a bit freaked out.
"Of course, this is a not live grenade," a prosecutor said.
"No, sir," said the ATF guy.


Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 32m32 minutes ago
The El Paso weapons were connected to Chapo through a cartel soldier nicknamed Jaguar, a pretty bloodthirsty guy. It's not clear yet how the RPG (and a bunch of 40-mil grenades) found in Colombia trace back to Chapo.


Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 30m30 minutes ago
The defense wasn't thrilled with the gun show and Judge Cogan seemed a little skeptical about the relevance of it all, but the ATF guy had a good time explaining the operating system of an M-16 & how you can change an AK weapon from semi to full auto in 5 minutes w/ a $16 part.


Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 15m15 minutes ago
P.S. The instant the weapons were whisked into the courtroom, Chapo's wife whisked their two 7-year-old twin daughters out of the room, bows and all...
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[YESorNO]

Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 18m18 minutes ago
El Chapo's trial went out with a bang before the holiday break.

Prosecutors had ATF witnesses testifying about AK-47s, M16s, and grenade launchers. They wheeled in a cart full of rifles seized in a Sinaloa cartel investigation. One agent was handling an RPG for the jury.


Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 14m14 minutes ago
There was literally a cart full of AK-47 rifles in the courtroom. ATF agent explained how an RPG works using an actual launcher and grenade. He rested the weapon on the jury box, one woman in the front row was basically getting a grenade launcher lap dance. She looked horrified.


Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 13m13 minutes ago
Actual exchange in the courtroom:

Prosecutor - "Of course, this is not a live grenade, is it?"

ATF agent - "No, it's not."

Prosecutor - "Ok, you can put that down."


Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 7m7 minutes ago
ATF agent gave a detailed explanation of how easily a legally purchased semi-auto AK-47 can be converted to full-auto. Said it can be done in "a few seconds" with "a simple hand file." Or with a $15 part and a drill: "Five minutes total you've got a very reliable machine gun."


Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 2m2 minutes ago
Anyhow, El Chapo's trial is now off until January 3. Judge Cogan gave the jury a very stern warning about not discussing the case or doing research. "There have been other cases where there have been consequences," he said.
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[YESorNO]

Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 4h4 hours ago
Sharing some evidence photos, starting with the RPG launcher that was displayed today in court for the jury. This thing has a range of 1100 meters and can penetrate six inches of steel armor.

Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 4h4 hours ago
Here's the load of cocaine and the cache of weapons that was seized at the airport in Ipiales, Colombia. Still unclear exactly how all this is connected to El Chapo.

Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 4h4 hours ago
And these are the AK-47s and bulletproof vests seized from a house in El Paso in 2010. A very merry Christmas from the Chapo trial.

Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 4h4 hours ago
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the El Chapo trial--we'll be back on January 3...

(Jan 2nd or 3rd???)
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[YESorNO]

Some tweets from Emily from today:

Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer 3h3 hours ago
Before the holiday, Judge Brian Cogan ruled on the question of whether El Chapo's defense team had violated court rules by facilitating communication between the drug kingpin and his wife, Emma Coronel Aispuro. The government’s motion for sanctions were partially granted today.

Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer 3h3 hours ago
The judge further stated that the government had drawn conclusions about El Chapo’s defense team’s transgressions based on mere “coincidence.”

Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer 3h3 hours ago
The judge also determined that Mariel Colon Miro, the defense team member accused of facilitating the text messages between El Chapo and his wife, could continue meeting with the defendant without another defense member present.

Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer 3h3 hours ago
Still, the judge admonished two defense team members - Mariel Colon Miro and Michael Lambert (who lent his phone for Google Translate) - for not being “forthcoming” and “candid” in the court’s inquiry regarding their possible misuse of cell phones during El Chapo’s trial.

Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer 3h3 hours ago
El Chapo’s trial halted for the holidays after testimony today. The trial will resume on Thursday, Jan. 4, 2019. You can expect updates here regarding court motions and other fodder filed during the vacation

(and now Jan 4th????)

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[YESorNO]

And one from Molly:

Molly Crane-Newman‏Verified account @molcranenewman 1h1 hour ago
Day 21 of the #ElChapo trial

https://www.theonion.com/emotional-el-chapo-reunited-with-family-following-passa-1831239706 … via @theonion

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El Chapo all smiles as surprise guests visit courtroom

December 20, 2018

"Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was all smiles and shed tears of joy in court Thursday when he got an early Christmas present — a visit from his 7-year-old twin girls, Emaly and Maria Joaquina.

The cartel kingpin’s wife, Emma Coronel Aispuro, who had been missing from court this week, made a return with the two girls, dressed in matching white blazers, jeans and sporting bows in their hair as they beamed at the sight of their dad.

Guzman couldn’t contain his glee, waving at them and blowing kisses as they were propped up on their mom’s lap to get a better view after not seeing him for several months.

The girls are the only family members allowed to visit the drug baron, as he and Emma aren’t allowed to communicate. He also will get a prison visit with his daughters on Friday, as The Post has exclusively reported.

A marshal intervened to stop the family fun by forcing Guzman to focus on the witness stand, where Colombian national police official Yeson Tapasco Suarez was testifying...."

https://nypost.com/2018/12/20/el-chapo-all-smiles-as-surprise-guests-visit-courtroom/
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U.S. Judge Rejects Claim Lawyer Arranged Contact Between 'El Chapo,' Wife

Dec. 20, 2018

"(Reuters) - The judge presiding over the U.S. trial of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman on Thursday rejected an accusation by prosecutors that one of Guzman's lawyers had facilitated unauthorized contact between the accused Mexican drug lord and his wife, Emma Coronel.

Prosecutors made the claim in a filing late last month after a court security officer saw Coronel using a cell phone in the Brooklyn courtroom where her husband is on trial. Only lawyers are allowed cell phones in the courtroom.

Because the filing was heavily redacted, it was not clear at the time which lawyer the prosecutors were accusing, or what evidence they had.

U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan revealed in an order on Thursday that prosecutors believed lawyer Mariel Colon had given the phone to Coronel so she could communicate with Guzman. They pointed to court security footage showing Coronel talking on a cell phone in the courthouse while Colon was alone with Guzman in the defense team's conference room, and the two women leaving the courthouse together soon after, according to Cogan's order...."

https://www.usnews.com/news/us/arti...lawyer-arranged-contact-between-el-chapo-wife
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[YESorNO]

El Chapo’s Defense Lawyer Knows the Art of Cross-Examining a Rat

"For weeks, while commuting to the Brooklyn courthouse from his Westchester County home, Jeffrey Lichtman, one of the lawyers currently defending Mexican drug lord Joaquín Guzmán Loera, a.k.a. El Chapo, was feeling frustrated, angry, sick to his stomach.

It was a talking problem. Lichtman, the Newark, New Jersey–born defender of gangsters like John Gotti Jr. and gangstas The Game and Fat Joe, wasn’t doing enough of it. Days had passed in the biggest single narco-trafficking case ever held in America, and Lichtman, the sort of barrister who used to be called “a mouthpiece,” had no choice but “to sit on my and seethe.”..."

El Chapo’s Defense Lawyer Knows the Art of Cross-Examining a Rat
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El Chapo jury terrified by AK-47, grenade launcher demonstration

December 20, 2018

"Prosecutors sent the El Chapo jury home with a bang on Thursday, after a firearms expert spent the afternoon waltzing around the courtroom wielding an AK-47 and a grenade launcher.

The jurors, equal parts entranced and terrified, watched as a unit chief from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms showed off the weapons that Joaquin Guzman and the Sinaloa Cartel allegedly used in in their everyday operations while trafficking drugs....

Thursday’s explosive testimony was the last jurors will hear until Jan. 3, when the trial will resume following a holiday break."

https://nypost.com/2018/12/20/el-chapo-jury-terrified-by-ak-47-grenade-launcher-demonstration/
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[YESorNO]

Dramatic drug trial filled with tales of fear and retaliation ends in guilty verdicts

December 20, 2018

"From Day One, it was a trial with all the elements of a true crime novel.

A violent Mexican drug cartel with ties to kingpin "El Chapo." Allegations of cocaine and heroin arriving by the tractor-trailer load in Tonawanda. Tales of fear and threats of retaliation.

On Thursday, a jury returned guilty verdicts in the prosecution of Herman Aguirre and Troy Gillon, two men accused of running the Mexico-to-California-to-Buffalo drug network.

Aguirre and Gillon will face mandatory life sentences when sentenced by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo...."

Dramatic drug trial filled with tales of fear and retaliation ends in guilty verdicts
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Lockport man convicted in drug case with ties to 'El Chapo'
PROSECUTORS: Gillon was part of a drug enterprise connected to notorious drug dealer.

"Troy R. Gillon and a California man were convicted Thursday of operating a drug trafficking enterprise that had ties to Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, the leader of northern Mexico's Sinaloa cartel and the world's most notorious drug dealer.

Gillon and Herman E. Aguirre, of Brea, Calif., were found guilty of narcotics conspiracy after an eight-week trial. Aguirre, described as the enterprise's ringleader, was also found guilty of operating a continuing criminal enterprise and money laundering conspiracy.

U.S. Attorneys say the two were part of an extraordinary conspiracy that trafficked millions of doses of cocaine, heroin and fentanyl in shipping pallets disguised as containing "sea cucumbers."

The enterprise created multiple fake organizations, including Corral Seafoods, LLC, registered in Cheektowaga, and three companies registered in California, in order to disguise narcotics and launder money, prosecutors say....

Aguirre is scheduled to be sentenced June 12, and Gillon on June 14, both before U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo. They each face potential life sentences.

Fifteen co-conspirators were indicted along with Gillon and Aguirre, each of whom has been convicted and is awaiting sentencing. ..."

Lockport man convicted in drug case with ties to 'El Chapo'
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[YESorNO]

El Chapo's beauty queen wife proves her spending habits haven't changed while the cocaine kingpin is jailed by wearing $100 Carolina Herrera tee, $815 Louis Vuitton sneakers and Gucci shades, while their twin girls are clad in $185 Burberry shoes (with clips)

20 December 2018

"Emma Coronel Aispuro, 29, arrived at the Brooklyn courthouse on Thursday ahead of a hearing for her drug kingpin husband Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman

Concern arose after she missed Monday's hearing to handle personal business ..."

El Chapo's beauty queen wife returns to kingpin's trial with twin daughters after missing hearings | Daily Mail Online
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[Niner]

Update in red from Yesterday:

Thursday, Dec. 20th:
*Trial continues (Day 21) (@ 9am ET) - NY – *Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera (El Chapo) (~61) arrested & charged with smuggled 155 tons of cocaine into U.S. Sinaloa drug cartel chief. Guzmán faces 17-count indictment charging him with drug trafficking, murder conspiracy & money laundering spanning nearly three decades. Plead not guilty to all charges. No bail.
Prosecutors say Guzmán ran Mexico's Sinaloa cartel from 1989 to 2014. In that time, they allege the cartel brought cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine & marijuana into the U.S. Prosecutors also charged Guzmán in connection with the assassinations of thousands of competitors. Plead not guilty to all charges. If convicted, he faces life in prison.
Trial expected to last several months. Also for trafficking, conspiracy & firearms in California, Arizona, Texas, Illinois, Florida & New York.
Skipping over Day 1 thru 17
12/17/18 Day 18: State witnesses: Jorge Milton Cifuentes-Villa. Jeff Lichtman's cross-examination of Jorge Cifuentes interrupted by government calling law enforcement witnesses drugs seized in Ecuador, re a poliice K9 that found 500+ kilos of cocaine was named Zeus. Last witness of the day was an official from Ecuador's federal prosecutor's office. She was involved in the seizure of 7.5 tons of cocaine from a house in Quito. Trial continues on 12/18.
12/18/18 Day 19: State witnesses: Jorge Milton Cifuentes-Villa. Pedro Flores. (He & his twin brother Margarito grew up in Chicago & became two of the Sinaloa cartel's main distributors in the US). Trial continues on 12/19.
12/19/18 Day 20: State witnesses: Pedro Flores. Law Enforcement witness (undercover cop from the Chicago area who picked up the 20 kilos of heroin that Pedro discussed w/ El Chapo on his secretly recorded call). 2 more government agents: one from the DEA and another from the DEA-SIU of Colombia’s National Police. Thursday (12/20) will be the last day of trial ahead of the winter holiday.
12/20/18 Day 21: Chapo filed a formal motion before the trial began for permission to give the girls a hug on the first day. Judge Cogan denied the request as a security risk. State witnesses: Two witnesses this morning from the Colombian National Police. One was Colombian national police official Yeson Tapasco Suarez & no name on the other one. An ATF firearms expert (prosecutors wheeled into the courtroom an evidence cart filled w/dozens of AK-47s and a hard case containing a rocket-propelled grenade launcher). ATF firearms expert then demonstrated how the weapons worked for the jury. Before the holiday, Judge Brian Cogan ruled on the question of whether El Chapo's defense team had violated court rules by facilitating communication between the drug kingpin and his wife, Emma Coronel Aispuro. The government’s motion for sanctions were partially granted today. The judge further stated that the government had drawn conclusions about El Chapo’s defense team’s transgressions based on mere “coincidence.” The judge also determined that Mariel Colon Miro, the defense team member accused of facilitating the text messages between El Chapo and his wife, could continue meeting with the defendant without another defense member present. Still, the judge admonished two defense team members - Mariel Colon Miro and Michael Lambert (who lent his phone for Google Translate) - for not being “forthcoming” and “candid” in the court’s inquiry regarding their possible misuse of cell phones during El Chapo’s trial. Will be back from Winter break on Thursday, Jan. 4th. or it could be the 3rd....

 

[Niner]

@YESorNO - okay on the next court date. They first mentioned Thursday, Jan. 3rd. & subsequent articles said the 3rd. The last mention was Thursday, Jan. 4th on the tweet.
So going with Thursday, Jan. 3rd, as the 4th is a Friday....

 

[YESorNO]

Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 6h6 hours ago
Letter sent today to Judge Cogan by @nytimes attorney David McCraw seeks more transparency in El Chapo's trial, much of which has been "litigated in secret." @vicenews supports this effort. The public has a right to to know what's happening in this case.

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5663018-New-York-Times-letter-to-Judge-Cogan-re-Chapo.html …

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[YESorNO]

Actress with links to ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán suing Mexican officials for US $60 million

December 21, 2018

"...Del Castillo, perhaps best known for arranging a secret meeting between Penn and former drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán in 2015, told a press conference in Mexico City yesterday that her treatment by the former “macho” federal government amounted to “political persecution” and was motivated by her gender.

Mexican authorities investigated del Castillo after she arranged the meeting between Penn and the former Sinaloa Cartel chief....

Del Castillo is reportedly the favorite actress of El Chapo, who is currently on trial in New York....

She was never charged but del Castillo claims that her reputation was damaged by information leaked by prosecutors in the administration of former president Enrique Peña Nieto, including the possibility that she might be linked to drug trafficking and that she had a romantic relationship with Guzmán...."

Actress with links to 'El Chapo' Guzmán suing officials for US $60 million
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Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s Kids: Where Are His 11 Children Now?

December 21, 2018

"Many know Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman to be a notorious drug dealer in the Sinaloa Cartel. The Mexican drug lord earned more than a billion dollars before he was arrested in 2013. El Chapo’s wife, Emma Coronel Aispuro, has been in headlines recently, due to her nearly constant presence in the New York courtroom where El Chapo’s trial is currently taking place.

Coronel Aispuro isn’t El Chapo’s first wife, however. The kingpin of the Sinaloa cartel has been married a handful of times, yielding a large number of children in the process...."

Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's Kids: Where Are His 11 Children Now?
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[YESorNO]

Meet the elite K-9 unit helping protect El Chapo’s trial

December 25, 2018

"There’s an elite team of public defenders on the case of accused drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman in Brooklyn federal court — and they’re working like dogs.

The four-legged group is part of the Explosive Detection Dogs unit of the United States Marshals Service and currently assigned to the international high-profile case to keep both its notorious defendant — and the courthouse — safe.

“They are trained to detect up to 19,000 different types of explosive combinations,” said one of the K-9s’ handlers, a US deputy marshal whose name is being withheld by The Post for security reasons.

The handlers and their team of a dozen highly trained pooches take turns scouring the federal courthouse daily for explosives and accelerants...."

https://nypost.com/2018/12/25/meet-the-elite-k-9-unit-helping-protect-el-chapos-trial/

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[YESorNO]

Sinaloa Cartel hands out Christmas presents to local villagers

29 DECEMBER 2018

"Mexicans living in the state of Sinaloa have received a delivery of Christmas parcels, with a message wishing them well from a leader of the Sinaloa cartel.

Wrapped in clear plastic, the baskets came with a card bearing a short message: “Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year from your friend Cholo Ivan.”

“El Cholo Ivan” is Orso Ivan Gastelum Cruz, who was the cartel’s former chief lieutenant, senior hitman and head of security for Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman - currently on trial in New York.

Gastelum is one of the most infamous of Mexican "narcos", and has had numerous ballads dedicated to him. His fame only rose with his relationship with Miss Sinaloa, Maria Susana Flores, who died in a shootout with police in October 2012, an AK-47 in her hands.

A wildly popular television series detailing his life, called El Desconocido, sealed his infamy.

Gastelum was arrested with Guzman in January 2016, and remains in prison...."

Sinaloa Cartel hands out Christmas presents to local villagers
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[YESorNO]

El Chapo’s cocaine shipping speed earned him the nickname ‘El Rapido’

December 29, 2018

"When it came to shipping hundreds of kilos of cocaine into the US, El Chapo was so quick that Colombian cartel members christened him “El Rapido” — Speedy.

That underworld moniker is just one of the colorful nicknames for El Chapo — or Shorty. The federal indictment against Joaquin Guzman Loera, currently on trial in Brooklyn, lists just about all of them.

After 1995, when Guzman took over the leadership of the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico, Colombian drug traffickers were so impressed with his mastery of logistics and organizing myriad smuggling routes into the US that they also christened him “El Arquitecto.” Guzman could deliver hundreds of kilos of the drug in less than a week — an undertaking that took other traffickers more than a month to accomplish, according to a retired federal law enforcement official....

Although he is still best known as El Chapo, federal agents also identified him as “El Jefe” (the boss) and “El Senor” (the lord).

Another nickname — “Apa” — is slang for father, and may have referred to Guzman’s role as a community benefactor and his leadership status in the Sinaloa cartel, the source said.

“Nana” — a slang version of “enano,” which means dwarf in Spanish — also described the diminutive drug lord, who stands 5 feet 5 inches."

https://nypost.com/2018/12/29/el-chapos-cocaine-shipping-speed-earned-him-the-nickname-el-rapido/

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[YESorNO]

El Chapo Trial Shows That Mexico’s Corruption Is Even Worse Than You Think

"It is no secret that Mexico’s drug cartels have, for decades, corrupted the authorities with dirty money. But as bad as the graft has been, the New York trial of Joaquín Guzmán Loera, the drug lord known as El Chapo, has suggested that the swamp of bribery runs even deeper than thought.

In two months of testimony, nearly every level of the Mexican government has been depicted as being on the take: Prison guards, airport officials, police officers, prosecutors, tax assessors and military personnel are all said to have been compromised...."

El Chapo Trial Shows That Mexico’s Corruption Is Even Worse Than You Think
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An Average Day at the El Chapo Trial — Far Away From Earth

By Alan Feuer Dec. 28, 2018

"...I have been covering trials on and off for almost 20 years, but this trial, more than most, has been a true immersive experience. Here are a few notes — jotted down on a morning of quiet testimony — about what an average day at the El Chapo trial is like...."

An Average Day at the El Chapo Trial — Far Away From Earth

(Joaquín Guzmán Loera ("El Chapo") invariably gives a little wave to his wife, Emma Coronel Aispuro, who has shown up in court every day to support him. CreditElizabeth Williams/Associated Press)
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[YESorNO]

Everything You Need To Know About The El Chapo Trial

JAN 02, 2019

"...Due to the nature of the trial, precautions have been taken to minimize risk to jurors. They are partially sequestered, for one, meaning they're limited to a hotel and the courtroom for the length of the trial, rather than traveling to the court from home. Armed marshals attend their every move, and will continue to do so. El Chapo has even promised not to kill any of his jurors....
...here's everything you need to know about the trial of El Chapo.....

What Has El Chapo Been Charged With?

El Chapo was extradited to the United States, where he pled not guilty to 17 counts, including the operation of a criminal enterprise, money laundering, and murder conspiracy. Due to the conditions of the extradition, he will not face the death penalty, even if convicted on all 17 counts. But the mastermind could spend the rest of his life in a Colorado prison known as "Supermax," without the possibility of parole....

The Outlook

It doesn't look good for El Chapo; the prosecution reportedly has over 100,000 audio recordings that connect him to numerous crimes. But he's been against slim odds before. Time will tell if these charges stick, or if this is just another in a long line of near-victories and embarrassments for law enforcement."

Everything You Need To Know About The El Chapo Trial
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[YESorNO]

Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 2h2 hours ago
Some news from El Chapo's trial, which resumes tomorrow. Judge Cogan has ruled on several issues related to witnesses and evidence. This means the jury won't hear about Fast & Furious or Vicente Zambada's claim that the Sinaloa cartel had a secret pact w/ the DEA.

Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 2h2 hours ago
Background on Fast & Furious and Vicente Zambada from my story last month https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/pa5xpk/prosecutors-dont-want-el-chapos-jury-to-hear-how-the-us-government-sent-guns-to-the-sinaloa-cartel …

Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 2h2 hours ago
Keegan Hamilton Retweeted Keegan Hamilton

Note that jurors will hear about guns that were successfully seized during Fast & Furious, just not the entire boondoggle. Last testimony before the winter break was about AK-47s discovered at a cartel safe house in El Paso…

-----Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton
And these are the AK-47s and bulletproof vests seized from a house in El Paso in 2010. A very merry Christmas from the Chapo trial.
1:42 PM - 20 Dec 2018

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