Jury Starts Deliberations on Alleged Mexican Cartel Boss ‘El Chapo’

By Brendan Pierson and Gabriella Borter

Jurors commenced deliberations on Monday morning in the trial of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, who is facing charges for leading one of the most notorious drug cartels in history in a federal court in Brooklyn.

Guzman, 61, is accused of heading Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, recognized as one of the most formidable drug trafficking organizations globally. His criminal history includes two notable prison escapes in Mexico, and if found guilty, he faces a potential life sentence in the United States.

Over the course of the 11-week trial, which included testimony from more than 50 witnesses, the proceedings unveiled a rare insight into the operations of the cartel, named after the impoverished mountain village in northwest Mexico where Guzman was born.

Prosecutors allege that Guzman smuggled vast quantities of cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine into the U.S. for more than twenty years, consolidating power through violent confrontations and the elimination of rival cartel members.

Defense attorneys contended that Guzman was merely a scapegoat, positioned by Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, another drug lord from Sinaloa who remains unapprehended.

The prosecution’s case was heavily supported by testimony from over a dozen former associates who made deals to cooperate with U.S. authorities. Their accounts revealed how the Sinaloa Cartel rose to prominence amidst the evolving dynamics of the Mexican drug trade in the 1990s, ultimately seizing control of nearly the entire Pacific coastal region of Mexico.

Jurors learned of Guzman’s early reputation as "El Rapido," the speedy one, in the 1980s due to his innovative construction of cross-border tunnels, which allowed for the swift transportation of cocaine from Mexico to the United States.

Despite maintaining connections with government officials, Guzman frequently lived evading capture. In 1993, he was imprisoned in Mexico for drug trafficking, but escaped in 2001 hidden in a laundry cart, thereafter spending several years in the mountains of Sinaloa under the protection of a private army.

His second arrest occurred in 2014, but he orchestrated a well-publicized escape the next year by disappearing through a tunnel dug into his maximum-security cell. His final capture happened in 2016 following a shootout in Sinaloa, leading to his extradition to the United States in January 2017.

The jury tasked with determining his fate consists of seven women and five men, whose identities have not been made public for safety reasons. Among them, at least three are immigrants, three speak Spanish, and several have law enforcement backgrounds.

Most jurors were familiar with Guzman prior to the trial but claimed they could remain impartial; the exception being a woman from Ethiopia who admitted she had "no clue" who he was.