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They call the word "Guantanamo in New York". Half a dozen individual cells, each measuring just seven square meters, are reserved for suspected terrorists, mobsters, and murderers. The neon light flashes 23 hours a day and, in the brief hour of darkness, rats and mice whistle in the corridors.
Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera is awaiting trial on the tenth floor of a concrete block, not far from Wall Street, but hermetically isolated from the outside world. The stocky Mexican known as "El Chapo" (the little one) is the most brutal and the most notorious drug lord in the world. Or was it once.
Since January 2017, Guzmán, 61, has been detained in the Manhattan Correctional Center, the safest prison in New York. And if it comes back to American justice, he will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
His trial, which begins Monday and will last four months, is a sensational process worthy of the name: Guzmán would be responsible for so many murders that only a fraction of the time can be tried, and has already been delivered twice in the United States. high security areas in Mexico. His relationships with the underworld make him extremely dangerous until today.
The presiding judge and prosecutors, jurors and witnesses therefore all benefit from personal protection. Every day, when the accused is caught in a SUV convoy between his isolation cell and the Brooklyn Federal Court, the Brooklyn Bridge must be closed.
At home, Guzmán is a legend, the ex-boss of a cartel that brought in $ 14 billion a year and the symbol of the "war on drugs" that failed. But especially as a superhero, on which books were written and films were made. "Robin Hood" called on Hollywood star blue eyed Sean Penn after a meeting just before Guzmán was caught up in 2016 – with the help of American investigators who would have found Penn's cell phone.
In fact, Guzmán is now sitting alone on the platform. But also in the courts is the failure of the drug policy of the United States and the western world, which costs billions of dollars – and tens of thousands of lives.
Judge Brian Cogan insists on objectivity. When the prosecution tried in advance to register 33 murders on the agenda, he intervened. It's a "drug-related conspiracy case involving murders", and not the other way around, he whispered, "Do your best and paint the rest."
The rest is enough. The allegations are a quarter of a century old – from 1989 when cocaine was trafficked to drugs in 2014 when methamphetamine and opioids began to destroy entire rural communities in the United States. Guzmán pleaded not guilty. The death penalty is prohibited by an agreement between the US and Mexican authorities.
Guzmán, who grew up in the poorest conditions, acted according to his own information when he was a teenager with marijuana to feed his family. Over the years, as the US Attorney meticulously describes it, he has badaulted murder, torture, extortion, money laundering and merciless business acumen from Mexican middlemen to the most powerful leader. cartel in the world.
The rivals were tortured and expelled
The Sinaloa de Guzmán cartel has imported at least 200 tons of cocaine into the United States, with private jets, ships and submarines, as well as heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana, sometimes concealed in cans of jalapeños. The goods were distributed via Miami, New York, Chicago and Atlanta, the proceeds of billions was donated to Mexico. The rivals were tortured and deported.
Guzmán was caught three times and escaped twice. His escape was cinematic: the first time that he broke into a laundry car, then through a hole in the floor of the prison shower. Shortly after his secret meeting with Sean Penn, who had interviewed him for Rolling Stone magazine, security agents found him. On January 19, 2017, Mexico delivered it to the United States just hours before the swearing-in of Donald Trump, possibly at the last chance of Barack Obama.
The process raises huge logistical issues. Thousands of New Yorkers have been summoned as potential jurors. The selection is closed to the public, even the press can not be present. For security reasons, the jurors remain anonymous during the trial, as are the prosecution witnesses, including many former drug traffickers and Guzmán rivals.
The prosecution wishes to present hundreds of thousands of files, photos, audio recordings and videos, including scenes of torture. Emma Coronel Aispuro, 29, former beauty queen and wife of Guzmán, will also be present.
And, as in previous hearings, there could be two other observers from Guzmán's family: his six-year-old twins. For most of his life, his father was on the run or detained. It is quite possible that they see it now more often in the audience room, and then only while waiting for prison visits.
Video review: Guzmán was caught three times and escaped twice
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