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

[YESorNO]

Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 2h2 hours ago
The government's closing argument is still ongoing. It's just an avalanche of information: names, dates, quantities of drugs, dollar amounts. Cramming 11 weeks worth of evidence and testimony into one soliloquy. Expected to finish today but may run after the usual 4:30 end time.


Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 2h2 hours ago
Some fun quotes from the Chapo trial today offered without context:

"Pedro called it the kidnapper van because it was a really rundown van"

"Piles and piles of cocaine everywhere"

"Fast food restaurants like McDonalds, Burger King, and even Denny's"


Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer 2h2 hours ago
And let's not forget about the chili pepper cans stuffed with cocaine.

Muted Testimony in the El Chapo Trial: Mysteries of the Second Week

Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer 2h2 hours ago
Usually, they give us an amount of cocaine seized, but when in doubt, leave it to the prosecution to assure us: “agents searched the warehouse where they found piles and piles of cocaine everywhere.”


Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer 2h2 hours ago
Why Chapo Trial in NY?: "If you're asking yourself why are we worried about this case here in the Eastern District..." the prosecutor pointed to a single seizure worth $500 million in profits ... and that didn't count the $2.5 billion (15-20 tons of cocaine) that passed thru NY.


Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer 1h1 hour ago
If the seizure doesn’t convince you Chapo should be tried in NY, then try this little anecdote from the prosecution: the Flores twins had “a stash house that was so close to this courthouse it had a view of the Brooklyn Bridge.” (The bridge is also visible from the courthouse.)

Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer 1h1 hour ago
We expected the government to finish closing arguments today, but we’ve moved sluggishly through 26/27 violations in the first count and there's still murder to be dealt with in the 1st, before moving to other counts. I’m not a betting woman, but the day ends in under an hour...
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[YESorNO]

Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 10m10 minutes ago
Goldbarg finished her presentation by taking the jurors through all of these escapes. She's been working on this case for a long long time and wrapped w/an emotional appeal. She said Chapo "always had a plan" to escape b/c "he wanted to avoid sitting right there--in front you."


Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 9m9 minutes ago
"Don't let him escape responsibility," she said. "Hold him accountable for all his crimes. Find him guilty."


Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 6m6 minutes ago
Closing argument ends w/ a dramatic flourish after mention of Chapo's many escapes: "He's sitting right there do not let him escape responsibility. Hold him accountable for his crimes. Find him guilty on all counts."


Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 3m3 minutes ago
The defense's closing argument, to be delivered by @NYCDefenseLaw, is scheduled for tomorrow morning. Still no final decision about whether the jury will begin deliberations on Friday, though it appears likely to happen that way.


Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 3m3 minutes ago
PS. In an astonishing bit of timing, at a press conference literally in the middle of Goldbarg's summations, Andreas Manuel Lopez Obrador, the president of Mexico, announced that his administration would no longer pursue drug kingpins like El Chapo.


Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 2m2 minutes ago
What on earth that means and why AMLO chose to say it right now of all times are questions above my pay grade. Thoughts?
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[YESorNO]

Molly Crane-Newman‏Verified account @molcranenewman 2h2 hours ago
Awkward timing https://www.milenio.com/politica/gobierno-detendra-capos-acabo-guerra-amlo …

(Goggle translated)

Government will not stop capos; The war is over: AMLO
The President highlighted the decrease in homicides during his administration and said that 54 were registered yesterday while the average in the last months was 80.

"Mexico City /30.01.2019 10:32:36

This government has not arrested organized crime capos because "the war is over," said President Andrés Manuel López Obrador at a press conference.

López Obrador said that he will continue to focus on addressing the causes of violence, since this strategy is already taking place, at least resulting in the reduction of daily homicides.

"Capos have not been arrested because that is not our strategy. It is no longer the intention to arm operatives against capos, what we want is to reduce insecurity by attending to the causes, "he told a press conference.

The President stressed that "there is no war, officially there is no war because what we want is peace" and he said that he will continue to focus on addressing the causes of violence, since this strategy is already resulting in at least the reduction of daily homicides.

According to the safety report he received this morning, he said, yesterday there were 54 homicides after the average of the last months did not fall below 80.

"And that made me feel very satisfied, that is why we are going to continue attending the causes, giving social programs, listening, attending; that is the fundamental thing for us: to go to the root to guarantee peace and security, not spectacular, spectacular arrests, "he said. "

AMLO dice que no detendrá capos porque ya se acabó la guerra
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[YESorNO]

Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 7m7 minutes ago
This was a grueling day. Even Chapo, who is normally alert during even the dullest moments, was yawning and groggy by the end. The jurors were constantly glancing at the clock, just counting down the minutes until this trial is over.


Keegan Hamilton Retweeted
The Takeaway ‏Verified account @TheTakeaway 8m8 minutes ago
"When the U.S. really puts its mind to it, they can capture and bring somebody like Chapo to justice," says @keegan_hamilton of @vicenews. "On the other hand, what we've seen time and time again, just how futile this all is in terms of the war on drugs."

Not a Telenovela: Recapping Outrageous Revelations from El Chapo's Trial

January 30, 2019

"Twenty tons of cocaine were lost when a ship’s captain got too high and hallucinated approaching U.S. Coast Guard ships. A 100 million dollar bribe to a former Mexican president. And a witness testifying that a drug kingpin buried one of his rivals alive.

No, these are not plot points from a crime film or telenovela. These are revelations from the trial of El Chapo.

After 35 days of testimony by more than 50 witnesses, the Mexican drug lord’s trial is soon coming to an end. The prosecution rested their case on Monday, quickly followed by the defense. El Chapo never took the stand.

As the trial wraps up, The Takeaway is joined by Keegan Hamilton, U.S. editor for VICE News and the host of the podcast “Chapo: Kingpin on Trial”. Read his latest piece here.

Click on the 'Listen' button above to hear this segment..."

Not a Telenovela: Recapping Outrageous Revelations from El Chapo's Trial | The Takeaway | WNYC Studios
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[YESorNO]

Reuters Top News‏Verified account @Reuters 44m44 minutes ago
Even behind bars, El Chapo's 'Robin Hood' luster glows in Mexico drug capital https://reut.rs/2UudrsG

Even behind bars, El Chapo's 'Robin Hood' luster glows in Mexico drug capital

JANUARY 30, 2019

"CULIACAN, Mexico (Reuters) - In Mexico’s drug trafficking heartland, the northwestern state of Sinaloa, admiration for captured kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman burns brightly even as the government makes progress in the fight against cartel violence....

In the sprawling state capital Culiacan, where dazzling luxury rubs shoulders with stark poverty, support for Guzman is strong.

“He does what the police don’t do. He protects the people,” said of the capo Antonio Pinzon, a 45-year-old farm worker on a pilgrimage to the chapel of bandit folk saint Jesus Malverde.

By lauding Guzman in likening him to Malverde, a Robin Hood-like figure revered by some Roman Catholics and drug traffickers, Pinzon spoke for countless residents of Sinaloa, local politicians, journalists and security experts say....

Security experts say the billions of dollars generated by the cartel give it power that cash-strapped local authorities are wary of challenging. That uneasy equilibrium has fed a widespread perception of political corruption.

Without the consent of capos, it was almost impossible to get elected in parts of Sinaloa, a senior politician from the state told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity....

Castaneda complained that depictions of traffickers in TV series like “Narcos” and “El Chapo” distracted from Guzman’s crimes.

“They make him look like Robin Hood,” he told Reuters. “Instead of exalting the authorities, they exalt the criminal.”..."

Even behind bars, El Chapo's 'Robin Hood' luster glows in Mexico drug capital | Reuters
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[YESorNO]

Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer 2h2 hours ago
Emma Coronel Aispuro (who I profiled earlier today) got a shout-out toward the end of the prosecutor’s closing statements, when she mentioned the couple’s texts about putting a home in their twin daughters’ fake names.

El Chapo’s Wife, Emma Coronel Aispuro: ‘I Admire Him’


Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer 1h1 hour ago
Escape was always Chapo’s Plan B, the prosecutor said. “The defendant had a plan to conquer the drug world but that wasn’t his only plan. The defendant had a plan to make sure a day like this would never occur.”


Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer 1h1 hour ago
Escape was a “cold, calculated” approach, the prosecutor said. “And why didn’t the defendant want to get caught? I submit because the defendant was guilty.”


Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer 1h1 hour ago
"He always had an escape plan ready - he always had a plan to escape being caught," the prosecutor said.


Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer 1h1 hour ago
Chapo:
Dodged authorities, 1993 (airport baggage claim conveyor belt)
Escaped prison, 2001 (laundry cart)
Dodged authorities, 2012 (jumped fence)
Dodged authorities, 2014 (bathtub tunnel)
Escaped prison, 2014: (mile-long tunnel)
Planned prison escape, 2016 (foiled by extradition)


Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer 1h1 hour ago
After his 2014 arrest: “But again the four walls of prison was not enough to keep his scheming at bay.” (He tunneled out.) And post-recapture: Even as of December 2016 - just a month before the defendant was put on a plane to NY, he was again planning to escape.


Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer 1h1 hour ago
“He’s sitting right there,” the prosecutor said of Chapo, seated behind her. “Do not let him escape responsibility. Hold him accountable for his crimes. Find him guilty on all counts.” And that concluded the government’s closing statements.


Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer 1h1 hour ago
Tomorrow, Chapo’s defense will take a turn at closing statements. The prosecution had a warning for the jury, counter to the defense’s argument; “Mayo Zambada’s position in the cartel simply does not matter.


Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer 1h1 hour ago
“That’s right ladies and gentlemen,” the prosecutor said. “If you conclude that Mayo Zambada and the defense are both top bosses, this element’s proven. If you conclude that both Mayo Zambada, the defendant and a few others are at the top, then again, this element is proven.”


Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer 1h1 hour ago
Emily Palmer Retweeted Keegan Hamilton

Here’s "piles and piles" of other fun quotes:
-“We now know that ‘pick-up’ is another word for ‘kidnap.’”
-“It wasn’t a bring-your-own-firearms situation.” (That’s BYOF & FYI: Chapo provided his men with firearms.)
-“Guerro with a W.” (Mind twister there.)

---Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton
Some fun quotes from the Chapo trial today offered without context:

"Pedro called it the kidnapper van because it was a really rundown van"

"Piles and piles of cocaine everywhere"

"Fast food restaurants like McDonalds, Burger King, and even Denny's"
12:27 PM - 30 Jan 2019
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[YESorNO]

Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 3h3 hours ago
Alan Feuer Retweeted Miguel Fernández F

I wonder what US federal prosecutors would say about this?

---Replying to @alanfeuer
(Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 3h3 hours ago
What on earth that means and why AMLO chose to say it right now of all times are questions above my pay grade. Thoughts?)

Miguel Fernández F‏ @miguelfdzflores
Replying to @alanfeuer
Alan, it was adirect question by a member of the media in his (daily) presser: why haven’t there been any arrests on kingpins in his ~60 days of government. He said that strategy didn’t work. Transcript in Spanish.

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[YESorNO]

Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 2h2 hours ago
Expect the defense's closing statement tomorrow to focus heavily on Mayo Zambada, identifying him as the true leader of the Sinaloa cartel who used El Chapo as a fall guy. Mayo has never been arrested and remains free to this day.
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[YESorNO]

Reuters Top News‏Verified account @Reuters 2m2 minutes ago
'El Chapo' must not 'escape' again, U.S. prosecutor tells jury https://reut.rs/2DK6s9C

'El Chapo' must not 'escape' again, U.S. prosecutor tells jury

JANUARY 30, 2019

"NEW YORK (Reuters) - Accused Mexican drug boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s repeated escapes from the law prove that he “knows he’s guilty,” a U.S. prosecutor told jurors in closing arguments at his trial on Wednesday, urging them not to let him escape again.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Goldbarg’s description of Guzman’s history of dramatic prison escapes capped off a day-long summation in federal court in Brooklyn in which she also attacked the defense argument that Guzman was a scapegoat.

Standing in front of a table piled with trial evidence including AK-47 rifles and bricks of cocaine, Goldbarg said Guzman ran from the law because he wanted to avoid sitting before a jury.

“Do not let him escape responsibility,” she urged the jurors...."

'El Chapo' must not 'escape' again, U.S. prosecutor tells jury | Reuters
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[Niner]

Thursday, January 31st:
*Trial continues (Day 38) (@ 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 10-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 32.
1/23/19 Day 33: Gov’t witnesses: Dámaso López Nuñez aka El Licenciado. Trial continues on 1/24.
1/24/19 Day 34: Gov’t witnesses: Isaias Valdez Rios, aka Memin, a former Mexican special forces guy, spent 10 years working for Chapo. Trial continues on Monday, 1/28. Government could rest their case as early as Monday.
1/28/19 Day 35: Gov’t witnesses: Isaias Valdez Rios aka Memín. James Bradley, a DOD analyst. Brendan Hanratty, a Drug Enforcement Admin special agent. Gov't rests. Defense asked Judge Cogan to direct an acquittal of Guzmán. The judge denied the motion. Chapo is NOT testifying at the trial. 2 witnesses will testify for the defense, likely completing testimony tomorrow am 1/29. Wednesday: Gov’t summations. Thursday: Defense summations. The jury could start deliberating on Friday.
1/29/19 Day 36: Defense witness: FBI agent Paul F. Roberts, Jr. Defense rests. Wed. 1/30 Gov’t closing arguments.
1/30/19 Day 37: Government's closing arguments. Defense will go tomorrow (1/31), then the government gets a rebuttal, & then it's in the hands of the jury.

 

[YESorNO]

9 Canadian connections to El Chapo’s bombshell drug trial, set to close Thursday

Jan. 30, 2019

"....Here are nine Canadian ties that have emerged from the drug lord’s trial:..."

9 Canadian connections to El Chapo’s bombshell drug trial, set to close Thursday | The Star
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Actress Kate del Castillo glad to not testify in 'El Chapo' trial

January 30th 2019

"PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Kate del Castillo said she's relieved she wasn't called to testify in the New York trial of Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

But she doesn't regret arranging a 2015 meeting between Guzman and Sean Penn, although the fallout kept her from visiting and working in Mexico for more than three years, the actress said...."

Actress Kate del Castillo glad to not testify in 'El Chapo' trial
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[YESorNO]

Jury Hears Closing Arguments As Dramatic 'El Chapo' Trial Nears Its End

January 30, 2019

"The trial for Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, who stands accused of leading one of the world's most infamous drug trafficking organizations, has unfolded like a television drama.

In laying out her closing argument on Wednesday — day 37 of the trial — Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Goldbarg presented the jury with a montage of images and intercepted audio which, she said, explicitly laid out how drugs were transported, how police were paid off and how violence coursed through the cartel with Guzmán at its helm.

"You heard it from his own words," she told the jurors, tying the recordings and weeks of witness testimony to her methodical presentation. "This is the defendant running his empire."

Guzmán jotted down notes on a yellow pad and passed them to his legal team, at one point appearing to run out of paper...."

Jury Hears Closing Arguments As Dramatic 'El Chapo' Trial Nears Its End
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El Chapo prosecutor's closing argument: 'Mountain of evidence' proves guilt (with clip)

Jan. 30, 2019

"....The jury, serving anonymously for security reasons, watched and listened as prosecutors showed a PowerPoint with photos of Guzmán and other alleged cartel members. They included 14 who testified against the alleged boss in hope of winning leniency for their self-confessed drug trafficking crimes.

Supplementing the photos was a greatest hits video montage of Guzmán, including footage that prosecutors said was recorded on an alleged underling's smartphone.

It showed what prosecutors said was the alleged boss pacing back and forth in jeans and a black baseball cap while he interrogated a suspected rival drug gang member handcuffed to a post....

Guzmán, dressed in a dark suit and tie, sat quietly at the defense table, taking notes as a Spanish interpreter relayed the prosecutor's words.

His wife, Emma Coronel Aispuro, appeared to listen intently to the translation via headphones in the courtroom's packed gallery.

Near Coronel sat the Mexican actor Alejandro Edda, who portrayed Guzmán in Netflix's Narcos: Mexico.

It was his second art-meets-real-life appearance at the trial this week. He said he'd been invited back by the defense team....
Guzmán and his wife, showing no outward sign of worry, smiled and exchanged waves as they left the courtroom for the day moments later.

Jurors are expected to begin deliberations on Friday.

U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan dealt with last-minute juror issues Wednesday before the government summation began.

The employer of one alternate juror told the court he might lose his job if he did not return to work soon, the judge said. A second alternate juror wanted to know if Guzmán was personally paying his lawyers and directing his defense team."

El Chapo prosecutor's closing argument: 'Mountain of evidence' proves guilt
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[YESorNO]

Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 6h6 hours ago
Keegan Hamilton Retweeted Kate Linthicum

Very good thread on what the drug war has done to Tijuana…

---Kate Linthicum‏Verified account @katelinthicum
Tijuana is in crisis.

Killings have risen 400% in four years. The morgue is running out of space.

The bloodshed is fundamentally different than the drug war violence glorified in films or narcocorridos. Mexico's violence is changing. Thread --> Kate Linthicum on Twitter

https://lat.ms/2MEUHny

Meth and murder: A new kind of drug war has made Tijuana one of the deadliest cities on Earth (with clip)

JAN 30, 2019

(graphic content/pics)

"....Tijuana, a city of 1.8 million that not long ago was celebrating a major reduction in violence, is in the grip of an unprecedented homicide crisis.

A record 2,518 people were killed here in 2018 — nearly seven times the total in 2012. With 140 killings per 100,000 people, Tijuana is now one of the deadliest cities in the world.

Across the border in San Diego, there were 34 homicides last year, or just over 2 killings per 100,000 people.

The root cause of the bloodshed is fundamentally different from previous iterations of violence in Tijuana.

In the past, the body count was driven by powerful drug cartels battling over lucrative trafficking routes to the United States. Now the main cause is competition in a growing local drug trade, with low-level dealers sometimes dying over the right to sell drugs on a single street corner.

Local and state officials estimate that up to 90% of the city’s homicides are linked to local drug sales, and authorities say they are seeing a similar pattern in Juarez, Cancun and other Mexican cities at the forefront of a nationwide rise in killings, which have nearly doubled over the last three years...."

Meth and murder: A new kind of drug war has made Tijuana one of the deadliest cities on Earth
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[YESorNO]

Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer 6h6 hours ago
Reporting on Chapo’s trial has become a lifestyle. It means getting up at 2:30 am to stand in line hours before court opens. It means knowing every 24-hour coffee shop within a 2-block radius of court. It means only three hours until first screening.

Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 6h6 hours ago
Hello from Day 38 of El Chapo's trial.

It's just after 4am and already 20 people (mostly journalists) have lined up for seats in the courtroom. The earliest arrival was @kmccoynyc, who showed up at 2:30 am. Total insanity.

Today, we get the defense's closing argument.


Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 4h4 hours ago
A small dance party has broken out in the entryway to the courthouse, deliriously tired journalists two-stepping to El Chapo narco-corridos and Puño de Tierra.

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Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer 3h3 hours ago
Like I said, a lifestyle. Puño de tierra in the early a.m., several hours before we passed through the first level of security. Chapo’s defense will make their closing arguments, starting around 9:30 am. I’ll have been up 7 hours by that time. This is not a joke.

(video clip: Emily Palmer on Twitter )


Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 3h3 hours ago
Expect some fire-breathing today from @NYCDefenseLaw in his closing statement. He's likely to attack the credibility of the 14 cooperating witnesses, and restate his claim that Chapo is just a fall guy for El Mayo Zambada, the true leader of the Sinaloa cartel. Will it be enough?
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[YESorNO]

Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 2h2 hours ago
Judge Cogan has already issued an order that blocks Lichtman from claiming that Chapo is a victim of a vast conspiracy by Mayo, the US, and Mexico. But he'll likely still try to plant that idea in the minds of the jury. If he goes too far, he could be or sanctioned by the court.


Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 2h2 hours ago
Prosecutors have anticipated Lichtman's closing. Andrea Goldbarg told the jury yesterday: “Mayo Zambada’s position in the cartel simply does not matter." All that matters in this case is that Chapo was a boss who, at the very least, led a faction of the Sinaloa cartel.


Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 2h2 hours ago
Heading up to the courtroom, stay tuned for updates…


Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 1h1 hour ago
Applause broke out in the courtroom when the last two available seats were filled by journalists who arrived around 4am. They almost ended up in the overflow.


Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 1h1 hour ago
Alan Feuer Retweeted Keegan Hamilton

The Chapo press corps slowly descends into frozen-toed, narco delirium... One reporter says, "We're like a bunch of dead-eyed ghosts."

---Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton
A small dance party has broken out in the entryway to the courthouse, deliriously tired journalists two-stepping to El Chapo narco-corridos and Puño de Tierra.


Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 1h1 hour ago
Today will be the trial's final days of argument. Jeff Lichtman, one of Chapo's lawyers, will present the defense summations. He's already been restricted by Judge Cogan on what he say to the jury. We'll see soon what eventually comes out.
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[YESorNO]

Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 3h3 hours ago
Just got a sneak preview of the defense's closing argument: A powerpoint presentation flashed on the screens in the courtroom with this picture of El Mayo Zambada. Seems it will be all-in on the "Chapo was a fall guy" theory.

Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 3h3 hours ago
Keegan Hamilton Retweeted Alan Feuer

That one reporter was @NoahHurowitz, who was spotted jogging toward the courthouse at 3:20am because he was afraid the line was already going to be too long for him to get a seat in the main courtroom.

---Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer
Alan Feuer Retweeted Keegan Hamilton

The Chapo press corps slowly descends into frozen-toed, narco delirium... One reporter says, "We're like a bunch of dead-eyed ghosts."

---Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton
A small dance party has broken out in the entryway to the courthouse, deliriously tired journalists two-stepping to El Chapo narco-corridos and Puño de Tierra.

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For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

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[YESorNO]

Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 60m60 minutes ago
As expected, Lichtman has returned to the theme of his opening argument. Namely, that Mayo Zambada is the real leader of the Sinaloa cartel and has never once been arrested while Chapo was "the rabbit that Mexican authorities have been chasing to Mayo's benefit for years."


Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 57m57 minutes ago
Lichtman added a few variations this time. Mayo's brother, Rey, and two of his sons, Serafin & Vicente, cooperated w/US authorities (Rey & Vicentillo testified at the trial) and Lichtman suggested this was a family strategy--that the Zambada's use cooperation as "a tool."


Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 55m55 minutes ago
Serafin got a 5.5 year sentence. Lichtman suggested if Rey & Vicente got equally light sentences and were ultimately freed, it was a price worth paying. He asked the jury if they'd spend 5 years in prison in order to return to a billion-dollar fortune. "It's not crazy," he said.


Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 53m53 minutes ago
Lichtman also mentioned a bombshell trial moment: the $100 million bribe Chapo allegedly paid to former Mexican president Enrique Pena Nieto. He said Mayo paid it. His evidence?
Chapo didn't seem to get anything from it and was hunted during Pena Nieto's term. Also he was broke.


Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 58m58 minutes ago
#BREAKING @vicenews: @NYCDefenseLaw claims the $100M bribe allegedly paid to @EPN was actually from El Mayo Zambada to get the Mexican government to target El Chapo: "The bigger Mr. Guzman's profile and notoriety grew, the more the heat fell on him and away from Mr. Zambada."


Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 50m50 minutes ago
What to make of this? Lichtman's claims are supported by some facts. Mayo hasn't been caught while nearly everyone around has been--or is dead. It's true his family cooperated but the US still hasn't found him. It also seems true Chapo was in debt when he allegedly bribed EPN.


Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 57m57 minutes ago
This has been a remarkable bit of oration by @NYCDefenseLaw during his closing argument. He's pounding the podium, comments dripping with sarcasm. Not sure the jury is buying it but it's a spectacle to watch.


Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 50m50 minutes ago
Tantalizing as all this is, it has little bearing on Chapo's guilt or innocence. Mayo could indeed be a shrewd operator, cutting deals with US authorities by snitching on his rivals when it's convenient to do so. And yet, Chapo could still be a major narco lord.


Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 48m48 minutes ago
That's why Lichtman added two more strands to his closings.
1) Attack the witnesses who testified vs Chapo as total liars
2) Suggest there isn't one Sinaloa cartel that Chapo conspired to run, but rather a group of (perhaps) federated narcos all working separately


Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 56m56 minutes ago
Lichtman on Mayo: "What I will tell you is that Mayo Zambada made that payment because the circumstantial evidence is clear as a bell."

He says while Chapo was being "hunted like an animal," El Mayo was "sitting on his , sunning himself, smoking a cigar."


Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 55m55 minutes ago
Update on timing: Judge Cogan announced this morning that the jury will *not* sit tomorrow. Deliberations now set to begin on Monday.
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[YESorNO]

Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 49m49 minutes ago
Lichtman savaging cooperators is top-notch entertainment. He reserved the best of ire for Alex and Jorge Cifuentes, the Colombian brothers who worked with and for Chapo for years.

El Chapo Trial: What We Know About the Trafficker Who Incriminated a Mexican President

January 16, 2019

El Chapo Trial: What We Know About the Trafficker Who Incriminated a Mexican President

Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 52m52 minutes ago
More from @NYCDefenseLaw on Mayo:

"Mayo Zambada has been all over this case, except for one place — in this courtroom."

He showed the jury a graphic of El Chapo's years spent in prison compared to Mayo, who has never been arrested.


Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 51m51 minutes ago
On El Chapo's various escapes: "Who's to say it was Mr. Guzman not Mayo Zambada who paid fo his freedom, all the way up to the president's office."

Lichtman calls EPN "as crooked as all the other law enforcement and politicians" in Mexico.


Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 49m49 minutes ago
Lichtman also says US law enforcement is complicit in the Mayo Zambada plot against El Chapo. He says Mayo's family, including his son Vicente, "use cooperation as a tool." Notes that Mayo's son Serafin was released after serving a relatively brief sentence.


Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 51m51 minutes ago
Would you buy a used car from a Cifuentes? he asked the jury.
Would you let a Cifuentes babysit your children?
If so, he said, the car would break down the second it was off the lot and your baby "would be sold for a kilo of cocaine."


Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 49m49 minutes ago
More Lichtman on purported conspiracy plot against Chapo: "It's a brilliant plan for Mayo Zambada and it has worked flawlessly for decades now." He calls Mayo "a puppeteer who was pulling the strings"


Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer 49m49 minutes ago
"I thought for a moment that I'd stumbled into the wrong courtroom, into the wrong trial," @NYCDefenseLaw said of the prosecution's closing statements. The 14 cooperators aren't credible, he said, but according to the gov't: "You just have to presume it that they're right."


Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer 48m48 minutes ago
"They're expecting you to ignore the dishonesty of their witnesses - just have blind faith," he said, continuing: "And I ask you what has blind faith in our government ever done?" Continuing: "Blind faith in our government has gotten us in a lot of trouble, a lot of times."


Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer 47m47 minutes ago
The credibility of the 14 cooperating witnesses (of 56 total witnesses in the government's case) is "the 600-pound gorilla sitting in the corner of the room," Chapo's lawyer said.


Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer 46m46 minutes ago
"Much of the evidence you saw: it was very impressive - guns and bricks - but most of it there was put there by the witnesses," he said of the cooperators. "Who put it in the hands of Mr. Guzmán."


Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 49m49 minutes ago
He re-read testimony where Alex admitted he'd lied to co-workers, friends, family, law enforcement agents, immigration officials, girlfriends and his own wife.
Q: You lied about Mr. Guzman, didn't you?
A: No, sir.
Q: He's the only person you didn't lie about?
A: That's right, sir


Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 48m48 minutes ago
The no-single conspiracy argument seems stronger. There's ample evidence the cartel wasn't a top-down cohesive entity but rather a loose band of constantly warring criminal partners. The jurors have to find that Chapo committed at least 3 crimes w/at least 5 other people.


Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 47m47 minutes ago
That's not a stretch with the evidence presented at the trial. But Lichtman is of course trying to sow doubt that the Sinaloa cartel was a cohesive criminal unit--and that Mayo ran it, not Chapo.


Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 48m48 minutes ago
Lichtman explains why he asked Alex Cifuentes about the alleged bribe to EPN on cross-examination: "Why is this idiot lawyer eliciting this information about his client bribing the president of Mexico?… I knew he would blame Mr. Guzmán."



Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer 45m45 minutes ago
The defense's argument is three-pronged: 1. the cooperating witnesses are the main source of information against Chapo, but they aren't credible, 2. all government is corrupt (and the prosecutors are attached), 3. Mayo Zambada is responsible for everything.


Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer 45m45 minutes ago
"He's been everywhere in this case," @NYCDefenseLaw said of Mayo Zambada. "Except in one place: he hasn't been in this courtroom."


Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 50m50 minutes ago
Lichtman also going hard on the credibility of the cooperators, as expected. Will share some of his better gems on the next break. Heading back up to the courtroom now.


Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer 37m37 minutes ago
"This case is about one thing: Get Chapo, Get Chapo," he said. "If you let them get away with it, when they come for you with this kind of garbage," he continued: "Just walk away quietly because this group of prosecutors, respectfully, the gov't knows what's best for you."
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Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 3h3 hours ago
Lichtman, also using (some) facts, argued that Chapo had been wrongfully accused as early as 1993 when he was blamed for murdering the beloved Cardinal Ocampo at the Guadalajara airport--a killing several govt witnesses said was in fact committed by the Arellano Felix brothers.


Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 3h3 hours ago
Chapo later escaped prison (the 1st time), he said, not because he feared extradition, as govt witnesses claimed, but rather because he feared for his life. By Lichtman's account, Chapo--unlike Mayo--was then "hunted like an animal" for years (the rabbit metaphor came up again.)


Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 3h3 hours ago
Lichtman mentioned a story by Vicente Zambada who said DEA was able to reach his father while he was in prison. Agents plucked Vicente from his cell in Chicago & put him on the phone w/Mayo. If the feds could find Mayo that way, why not arrest him, he said

El Chapo Trial: How a Cartel Prince Left the Drug Trade

January 4.2019

El Chapo Trial: How a Cartel Prince Left the Drug Trade


Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 3h3 hours ago
"The Mexicans don't want Mayo arrested," Lichtman said, "respectfully, because he's paying them huge bribes."


Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer 3h3 hours ago
The @NYCDefenseLaw is going through every witness's faults: 3 sidebars apparently concerned Pedro Flores's sister-in-law (the gov't changed her name but it popped out earlier in the trial) and the fact that he and his wife conceived in a bathroom during a proffer session.


Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer 3h3 hours ago
"Pedro Flores is having sex with his wife during a debriefing and Mr. Guzmán can't hug his daughters," @NYCDefenseLaw said. "Mr. Guzmán is a human being, too." His daughters are the only people who can visit him. Since his extradition, he's seen his wife only in court


Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 3h3 hours ago
Lichtman is now up to four admonitions by Judge Cogan. He's been scolded for his coarse language, for accusing the government of torture, for accusing the government of encouraging witnesses to lie, and for mentioning a theory that one witness had someone killed.



Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 3h3 hours ago
After Lichtman tossed around a bunch of swear words, Judge Cogan cautioned him on his language. (He confessed to having "a potty mouth.") That didn't stop him from mentioning repeatedly that Pedro Flores, Chapo's top US distributor, had sex--twice--w/his wife in govt custody.


Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 3h3 hours ago
At one point Lichtman stood behind Chapo comparing Flores' (unsanctioned) conjugal visits to Chapo who, er, loved his family too. "Mr. Guzman can't hug his daughters," Lichtman said. "He's a human being too. He's has feelings too."


Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 3h3 hours ago
It's a shame this isn't televised because it's really quite the show. Lichtman used to do talk radio and he's channeling that today. He clearly enjoys being the bad boy. Part of the strategy is to provoke the government and make it seem like they want to keep him quiet.


Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer 3h3 hours ago
"Tortured." @NYCDefenseLaw used the word several times in reference to Chapo, whose conditions post extradition included: isolation, a thin mattress, mail arriving months late and cold food. "What does that get for the government?" he asked, followed by a sustained objection.


Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer 3h3 hours ago
"The government did not torture anyone," the judge interrupted @NYCDefenseLaw, his voice booming over the mic, adding Chapo never went through the complaint process to flag torture. "If you want to make the point that he was under stressful conditions, you can make that point."


Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer 3h3 hours ago
But @NYCDefenseLaw didn't miss a beat, noting that one of the government's own witnesses, Vicente Zambada (son to Mayo) had noted poor treatment before agreeing to cooperate. He was allowed 1 visitor in 2 years and never saw his kids.


Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 3h3 hours ago
Lichtman went on a prolonged rant earlier about Alex and Jorge Cifuentes. These were both his witnesses on cross-examination and he seems obsessed. He even paused twice to say, "I hate to belabor the point…" and "I apologize but I gotta get it all in…"


Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 3h3 hours ago
Some quotes from Lichtman presented without context:

"Pure unadulterated gibberish"

"Any of you old enough to remember Abbott and Costello, 'Who's on Third?'

"He killed like a zillion of them"

"This is Mexico, this isn't Mars"

"He's a human being too, he has feelings too."
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Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer 2h2 hours ago
Chapo:
1993-2001: In prison
2001: Escaped
2007-2013: In debt $20 million
2014: Arrested
2015: Escaped
2016: Rearrested
2017: Extradited
“Where’s all the billions of dollars?” @NYCDefenseLaw asked.


Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer 2h2 hours ago
Of Mayo, @NYCDefenseLaw said: "He's paying everybody from the local beat cops up to the president."


Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer 2h2 hours ago
"So who takes the fall?" @NYCDefenseLaw asked in closing arguments. "The famous Chapo, who can't keep his mouth shut when he goes on TV interviews." His 50-50 partner, Mayo, has been interviewed by @revistaproceso, but has never been arrested, leading a mostly private life.


Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer 2h2 hours ago
"He's smiling, somewhere," @NYCDefenseLaw said of Mayo. "Just not here."


Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer 2h2 hours ago
"This is the formula," @NYCDefenseLaw said of Mayo's habitual bribery. He then pinned Mayo for the $100 million bribe that @EPN allegedly took from the cartel. This wasn't Chapo, who was "hunted like a dog before and after. It just doesn't make sense."
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