Infamous Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera was found guilty of all criminal counts against him, CNN reports. Now, he may face life in prison. The decision spanned the course of six days.
The 61-year-old is guilty of charges like international distribution of marijuana, cocaine, heroin, continuing criminal enterprise, and conspiracy to launder profits made off of narcotics. What made the deliberation extraneous was the amount of evidence presented during the trial. Reportedly, there were 200 hours of testimony since mid-November.
Last December, reports revealed that El Chapo approached the sister of a Colombian drug lord to purchase methamphetamine for his Sinaloa drug empire. Witness Jorge Milton Cifuentes Villa admitted during trial that he was present during the transaction.
Villa revealed El Chapo went behind his back and made business deals with his siblings regarding the meth merchandise. According to The Wall Street Journal, the jurors were informed about how Guzman smuggled drugs into the U.S. and Mexico, which included various modes of transportation like tunnels, cars, planes, trucks, and trains.
Additionally, a U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant testified and revealed that he took hold of a submarine filled with 13,000 pounds of cocaine off the coast of Guatemala. There was also other anecdotal evidence from those close to Guzman.
“One of Mr. Guzmán’s former mistresses testified about sleeping next to him in 2014 when they heard law enforcement agents outside,” writes Nicole Hong and Katie Honan. “They lifted the bathtub, which was a trap door, and fled through the underground sewage system for over an hour — all while Mr. Guzmán was completely naked.”
El Chapo is expected to be transferred to a high-security prison in Florence, Colo. The correctional facility is where some of the world’s most dangerous criminals are held, including 1993 World Trade Center terrorist Ramzi Yousef. When sentenced, El Chapo might face life in prison.
