El Chapo trial: Mexican drug lord writes to his wife about binoculars, drug logistics and his mistress, prosecutors said

New York – Messages exchanged between the infamous Mexican drug dealer Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman and his wife while he was on the run in 2012 surfaced on Wednesday during his trial in the United States. The FBI stated that he had discovered with the help of a cyber-technician for the cartel that had rocked over the king pillar.

Technician Christian Rodriguez also testified to Guzman's obsession with spyware that he had installed on his cell phone. he spoke with members of his entourage, including love interests, to watch them. The software produced reports on telephone activities that were now directed against the defendant.

Text messages exchanged between Guzman and his wife, Emma Coronel Aispuro, in which they discussed with their twin daughters, concerned logistics for drug trafficking and shared encouragement while he was fleeing a raid led by the Mexican authorities in a mansion in the seaside resort of Cabo San Lucas, Baja. On the day of the raid, Guzman told his wife the escape in a message broadcast to jurors during the trial in federal court in Brooklyn.

"Everything happened very quickly," wrote Guzman, according to government translations. "I saw them banging on the door next door, but I managed to get out."

Guzman said in the messages that he needed a new set of clothes, a shampoo and a little black dye for his mustache.

"I love you, my love," he writes. "See you soon." She replied at one point: "I hope so darling."

At a previous exchange, Guzman had described one of his daughters as "intrepid", adding, "I'm going to give him an AK-47 to be able to hang with me. "

This is the second day in a row that prosecutors have unveiled intercepted communications that conclusively link Guzman to a vast drug plot, in his own words. On Tuesday, the jurors heard phone call records allowing defendants to issue orders to the workers of the cartel.

The FBI entrusted Rodriguez, a 32-year-old American university graduate, to have contributed to the extraction of records and texts from an encrypted communication system that Guzman l & # 39; 39, had charged to set up in 2008 for the Sinaloa cartel to thwart the application of the law.

"This type of computer, by the way, you must remember, is really brave," said CBS News legal analyst Rikki Klieman. He "works simultaneously for the cartel, knows how violent he is and works for the FBI."

Rodriguez recounted having been summoned by Guzman Mountain Den in 2008 to create the system. He said that Guzman 's interest was quickly turned to spyware, which he had installed on 50 phones and on a woman' s computer. who accompanied him.

"He called me all the time to ask me for information about spyware." he added, adding that Guzman particularly liked a feature allowing him to remotely activate the microphones of the devices in order to listen to users.

In 2012, the FBI contacted Rodriguez and convinced him to cooperate. Since then, he has paid him $ 460,000 in service fees and fees, and transferred him to the United States for security reasons.

Guzman was a fearful and admired leader of crime in Mexico, perhaps best known for being twice escaped. He was picked up and sent to the United States in 2017, where his lawyers claim that he is accused by co-operators who were once part of his cocaine smuggling empire.

The new evidence presented on Tuesday highlights Guzman's personal life in a sometimes clumsy way. Sweet conversation with his wife where they call themselves "mom" and that "daddy" was juxtaposed with communications stating that he had paid for the liposuction of a cartel agent turned mistress arrested during the search at the Baja house where records of the proceedings

Guzman's wife was in the audience hall on Wednesday, but had no visible reaction to certain passages of the messages as they were displayed on a big video screen and read aloud by an FBI agent. Last month, Guzman was crying when his wife, who had disappeared from court for a week, made a comeback with their twin daughters, who were seen beckoning to their father .

have an impact on the jury, said the defense attorney and former prosecutor, Vinoo Varghese.

"One of the things that the defense lawyers we like to do is to humanize our clients because, according to the government, they are the worst person in the world," he said. Varghese on CBSN.