After six days of deliberations, a jury of seven women and five men found Joaquin Guzman guilty on 10 federal counts for which he was charged. Fox News reports that these charges include drug trafficking, alleging that El Chapo was the leader of a criminal enterprise, firearms charges, and money laundering charges. The trial was among one of the most highly secured trials in history.
Some of the evidence against Guzman includes his long time of using violence against enemies of a cartel that smuggled nearly 200 tons of cocaine into the U.S. Assistant U.S.
Attorney Andrea Goldberg recalled testimony of a former cartel soldier, who testified that he saw Guzman kill two men from Sinaloa, who were outed as working for a rival cartel. The unidentified witness says Guzman cursed at the men, before shooting them in the head and ordering the bodies to be gotten rid of by throwing them on a bonfire.
"El Chapo" was the face of the Mexican drug wars
"El Chapo" has been one of the top figures in the Mexican drug wars, leading to large amounts of cocaine, heroin, and more passing through our southern border and killing Americans. "El Chapo's" defense team claims that those who testified against Guzman could not be reliable because they made deals with the government.
The forensic evidence, texts, and emails that, unlike people, do not lie, were overwhelming. "El Chapo" was raised in poverty in rural Mexico and ended up the leader of a global drug empire. Guzman earned billions of dollars over the course of his illegal and murderous career. Jurors ended up delivering their verdict after an 11-week trial.
Guzman will receive his sentence in March.
"El Chapo" heading to prison he definitely can't escape
The head of the Sinaloa Cartel will now be spending the remainder of his life in prison, solely based on the first charge. El Chapo will remain in Brooklyn for a few months, and eventually be moved to the maximum security US Penitentiary, Florence ADX in Colorado.
The prison is one of the most secure facilities in the country. Florence ADX houses many of the country's most dangerous criminals including Terry Nichols, Ramzi Yousef (First WTC bomber), Dzhokhar Tsarnaev (Boston bomber), Zacarias Moussaoui (20th 9/11 hijacker) and several others.
Many top-level cartel figures have been extradited to the US, but Guzman is now the first to go to trial. The trial featured testimony from over 50 witnesses, giving the public insight into the workings of one of the largest drug cartels in Mexico. Sinola is in northwestern Mexico, where Guzman was raised in a poor mountain village.