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One day after the government presented its closing arguments against the Mexican lord in charge of drugs, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman describing his long career of more than two decades in the ranks and at the head of the cartel that flooded the United States. States with tons of cocaine, the defense has had its turn. The defense told the jury that she "did not need to give in to the myth of El Chapo".
Guzman's lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman, began the final argument of his team by stating, "a house built on rotten foundations will not last long". He also called the orchestrated prosecution a "scripted event" in the past three months in court and dismissed government witnesses who "lie, steal, cheat, sell drugs and kill people" to make a living.
Guzman faces a drug conspiracy and murder charges and could incur life imprisonment in the event of conviction. On Monday, Judge Cogan should give several hours of instruction to the jury. The prosecution must now resubmit its suggestions for the verdict sheet before Monday's instructions. The jury's instructions will be specifically tailored to what the jurors have heard today.
Proceedings will begin Monday morning.
Lichtman stated that Guzman had been "arrested several times" despite the $ 100-million bribe a drug dealer testified that his client allegedly paid to the former Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto . "Who do you think paid this bribe," Lichtman asked the jury. He said that Ismael "El Mayo", Zambada, had solved the problem and remained free while his client was "hunted like an animal". He called Guzman "the rabbit that the Mexican authorities chased". The defense tried to present Zambada as the true leader of the Sinaloa cartel.
US Department of Justice
Guzman was bankrupt. "The guy does not have money," Lichtman said. El Chapo was not able to pay workers and live cheaply between 2007 and 2013. "When the fire hit the road, it took out $ 20 million in debt for six years," he said. declared Lichtman.
The defense finds a trend: "Cooperate, pay … Cocaine continues to flow – yesterday, today, tomorrow, forever". "
" What world, huh? "
Lichtman was often folkloric and humorous, and he was furious with the benefits of the witnesses who collaborated and helped the government defend Guzman in his case, calling it a" written event "- and a" play "staged by the government.
" Did you even know before coming here that they give these offers to such bad people? Is it the country you thought you were living? in? "Lichtman said in federal court in Brooklyn on Thursday." They've been lying to you time and time again and the government has not stopped them … you can stop them. "
Lichtman said the government was not Did not require the financial statements of their witnesses, who would probably have hidden their money. "Here is the ugly truth, they all came out when Chapo Guzman is found guilty," Lichtman said, at one point he said: "They would have crushed that man with your mother."
Lichtman Wednesday criticized the closing plea of US prosecutor Andrea Goldbarg, saying that she was talking about the murders are like established facts. "
" He asks the jurors to consider locating any evidence of reports of missing persons in Mexico and whether Guzman played he joked that "it's a Mexico and not Mars … you have to be warned". "None of these witnesses are dying in jail," Lichtman said. He added that cooperative witnesses do not say their knowledge and involvement on many fronts, which benefits the government. "If their case is so strong, why should their witnesses lie to you?" he asked
He then posted on the projector of the audience room a card "get out of prison free" of the board game Monopoly and said: "… In the end you have to decide whether you can live with that, their lies .. Prosecutors speak of their testimony as if it was a gospel. "
" You are smart people, it's why we chose you, "he said.
"It's a show … it's a sham and you know it," Lichtman breathed. And then he blew and stopped. He went on to say, "What do you think it would happen to a normal person like us if we were selling drugs?" His response to the men and women of the jury was brief. "Thrown in prison and forgotten," he said. The government opposed this statement.
Lichtman closed the proceedings with an apology to the jury: "I've exhausted you all … I'm fighting for a life of the man here. "He said that he had sought to" cover the walls of this courtroom with reasonable doubt … there is a huge reasonable doubt here. "
"Please," pleaded Lichtman to the jury, "look in your hearts and if you have this doubt, do not let go." He concluded by saying, "You do not have to you let go to the myth of El Chapo … no, no, no, not guilty. "
The government's rebuttal, pronounced by US Chief Prosecutor Amanda Liskamm, also urged the jury. to use his "common sense" by asking them "who is on trial?" She added that the tactics used by the defense were "to distract you from the harsh and cold evidence presented" throughout her trial.
Christine Cornell
"We did not choose these witnesses, the defendant chose these witnesses," Liskamm said. "The day when cocaine conspiracies are made in heaven is the day we can call angels as witnesses."
"We are not asking you to take these witnesses to their true value," she continued. "We show you how these witnesses are corroborated." She then explained how "any of these 14 associated witnesses would be sufficient to sentence the accused". Liskamm added, "In order to believe the defense's argument in this case, you must believe that the defendant is the most unlucky man in the world."
The government reminded jurors that their questionnaire contained an oath – to set aside any personal bias, particularly with respect to co-operating witnesses – and argued that "the defense is all over the place, but there where the proof is made. "
The proceedings ended at 4:15 pm No court is scheduled for Friday.
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