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During his opening argument, the lawyer of the powerful Mexican drug trafficker reported that several hundred million dollars were transferred to Enrique Pena Nieto and before him to Felipe Calderon. This historic trial is expected to last four months.
One of the lawyers for Joaquin Guzman, aka "El Chapo", said on Tuesday at the opening of the drug trafficker trial in New York, that the Mexican president and his predecessor had received bribes from the Sinaloa cartel. one of the most powerful in the country. Hundreds of millions of dollars have thus been transferred, on behalf of the organization, to Enrique Pena Nieto, outgoing president, and, before him, to Felipe Calderon (2006-2012). He said the charges are "totally false".
READ ALSO – El Chapo, one of the biggest drug barons, in front of his judges
"The truth is he did not control anything"
Jeffrey Lichtman, lawyer of "El Chapo"
The person responsible for these payments would be Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, co-accused during the trial of "El Chapo" but currently on the run, said Jeffrey Lichtman during his introductory speech. "The truth is he did not control anything," said the council about Joaquin Guzman, who faces life imprisonment after the trial, which is expected to last more than four months. For Jeffrey Lichtman, "El Chapo" is a "scapegoat" of the Mexican government. "Why does the Mexican government need a scapegoat? Because they make too much money with the bribes of the barons of the cartels ".
The authorities suspect "El Mayo" to lead the cartel of Sinaloa in the absence of "El Chapo", arrested in January 2016 and imprisoned since. The beginning of the trial was delayed on Tuesday by the withdrawal of two jurors. The first, a woman, produced a medical certificate and the second, a man, indicated that he could not afford to follow a trial of such length, being unemployed. Two new jurors replaced them, before the debates could really begin.
154 tons of cocaine shipped to the United States
During the selection last week, several potential jurors had asked to be excused for fear of reprisals from the drug trafficker or his relatives. American justice presents "El Chapo", 61, as one of the most dangerous drug barons she has ever had in her hands. He is accused of having directed from 1989 to 2014 the powerful cartel of Sinaloa, named after the mountains in northwest Mexico where he comes from. US prosecutors say that under his leadership, the cartel has shipped more than 154 tons of cocaine to the United States, worth an estimated $ 14 billion.
This lawsuit "is emblematic for the American justice," she wants to make "an example of the war that leads the United States against drug traffickers," said Rene Sotorrio, a Miami lawyer who has defended many drug traffickers. "El Chapo is an icon, the incarnation in the collective imagination of the dangerous drug trafficker," he said. This explains why the US justice has not sought to negotiate any plea-guilty agreement, which would have avoided a long and very expensive lawsuit.
READ ALSO – Our striking reportage in the heart of the Mexican cartel war
"El Chapo" pleads not guilty, but the US justice ensures to have gathered a mountain of overwhelming evidence against him, submerging the defense lawyers, who deplore not having been able to examine them all: some 300.000 pages of documents, 117.000 audio recordings and quantity of photos and videos. While waiting to know if the jurors will judge the Mexican guilty of the 11 counts against him, at the end of a trial supposed to last more than four months, the fear of a new escape or another blow of radiance "El Chapo" hovers over the court. To protect the detained jurors, their names will remain secret and they will be escorted by guards each day to the Brooklyn courthouse, where many gunmen and sniffer dogs have been deployed.
The list of witnesses – former badociates, employees or rivals of "El Chapo" – called to testify is also kept secret. Some enjoy the protection of the US government, and live today under new identities. Others are held in special prisons to prevent any retaliation.
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