Notorious Drug Lord ‘El Chapo’ Found Guilty On All 10 Charges

(The AEGIS Alliance) – Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, the notorious Mexican drug kingpin, was found guilty on all 10 charges by a jury at the Brooklyn federal court.

Guzman has been found to be responsible for violence, which include murders, along with the “smuggling of massive amounts of narcotics” into the United States spanning over decades, prosecutors stated to reporters following Tuesday’s verdict.

Following the Verdict, the special agent Ray Donovan who is in charge of the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration, said Guzman is a “ruthless killer” who had been “responsible for unthinkable amounts of death and destruction” in both Mexico and the United States.

“He was the man behind the curtain — he pulled all the strings,” Donovan stated.

“El Chapo” the drug lord is expected to get a life sentence without parole being a possibility. This would be a sentence that gives him “no escape and no return,” said U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Richard Donoghue to reporters on Tuesday.

Jurors had been asked to weigh in on 10 counts against Guzman, each had differing components.

The federal drug conspiracy trial of Guzman began a few months ago. This guilty verdict happened on the sixth day of the jury deliberating.

The El Chapo Verdict Jury Form can be found on Scribd.

Accusations against Guzman by prosecutors included the trafficking of heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana into the United States as a top leader in charge of the Sinaloa cartel.

The defense argued that Guzman, age 61, had been the victim of an “elaborate conspiracy.”

More than 50 witnesses were called in by the prosecution, who described every aspect of Guzman’s life, including brutal murders, plastic bananas loaded with cocaine, mistresses who were spied on, and even a naked journey he took through a secret tunnel.

On Tuesday, a DEA official described the verdict as being justice for massive amounts of drug overdose victims inside the United States.

Donovan put blame on the Sinaloa cartel and Guzman for the present opioid crisis, and noted they first introduced fentanyl laces Mexican heroin into the United States.

A defense attorney for Guzman said to reporters after the verdict that, “You still have to fight” “no matter who your client is.”

“We took that obligation incredibly seriously,” the defense attorney mentioned. “This was a case that was literally, literally, an avalanche of evidence… Everything was left on the battlefield.” he continued.

“We judge him how he is with us” Guzman’s attorneys stated, describing him as a “gentleman,” who acted supportive, happy and “appreciative of all of our efforts.” they concluded.

Guzman has escaped twice from prisons in Mexico, 2015 being the most recent. He was recaptured during 2016 and extradited to the United States during 2017. Guzman is scheduled to be sentenced on June the 25th.

Featured Image: Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman’s prison mugshot at the Altiplano maximum-security federal prison in Almoloya, Mexico on January 8, 2016. Credit: Mexico’s Federal Government / AP

Kyle James Lee – The AEGIS Alliance – This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.