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The selection of jurors in the trial of Mexican drug trafficker Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman took an unexpected turn on Tuesday when one of the prospective jurors asked for an autograph from the accused, suspected of running for 25 years during one of the most powerful cartels in the world.
The day before, this prospective juror, a 20-year-old New Yorker who was born in Medellin, Colombia, said he liked criminal TV series and knew the drug trade well because of its origins. The city of Medellin is known worldwide for being the center of global cocaine trafficking under the rule of drug trafficker Pablo Escobar, who died in 1993.
On Tuesday, it appeared that the young man had asked a bailiff if he could get an autograph from El Chapo, which was, after the death of Osama bin Laden, the man most wanted by the United States.
One of the prosecutors then asked that he be dismissed, judging him "in love" with El Chapo. But the defense lawyer protested.
The judge then directly questioned the young man: "Why did you ask for an autograph from the accused?"
"Because I'm a little fan," he replied. He was then permanently removed from the list.
On the bench, El Chapo, who was wearing a black suit on a sky blue shirt and checked tie, reacted with a smile.
The selection of 12 jurors and six substitutes for this trial, which is expected to last about four months, began Monday and must be completed by Friday. The opening arguments are expected Tuesday.
For the moment, of the hundred or so pre-selected people, 58 were interviewed and 27 rejected.
Several potential jurors were frightened to be part of the jury.
On Monday, two women were dismissed after fearing retaliation from relatives of El Chapo.
On Tuesday, the judge said a woman told her crying that her mother had told her she would have to move if she was selected.
A person who was taken to hospital after a panic attack was also dismissed.
To protect jurors, the selection takes place behind closed doors. Their names will remain secret, and they will be escorted every day to the Brooklyn federal court, where security has been strengthened.
Mr. Guzman, 61, is accused of leading the Sinaloa cartel from 1989 to 2014, which sent more than 154 tons of cocaine to the United States, as well as huge quantities of heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana, valued at $ 14 billion.
AFP
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