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By Dareh Gregorian and Adam Reiss
The long-awaited trial against the infamous drug lord, known as "El Chapo", is waiting longer.
Prosecutors needed to get a glimpse of their case against Joaquin Guzman Loera – the man alleged to have overseen "the world's largest drug trafficking organization" – Tuesday morning in a federal courthouse in Brooklyn, New York.
But the pleadings were delayed after one of the 12 jurors was excused for anguish. The panelist was one of seven women on the jury. The panelists remain anonymous for security reasons.
Judge Brian Cogan and the lawyers in the case were trying to choose a replacement from 10 potential jurors.
Guzman, 61, is on trial on 17 counts of drug trafficking, murder and money laundering conspiracy over a 25-year period. Prosecutors said in court that he had headed the Sinaloa cartel in Mexico using violence and chaos. The cartel "manufactured and imported quantities of several tons of heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana in the United States" and "generated billions of dollars in profit," according to their documents.
Guzman pleaded not guilty.
Emma Coronel Aispuro, former beauty queen of Guzman, was present. A Guzman lawyer had asked Cogan to allow his client to hug his wife before presenting his arguments, but the judge denied the request for security reasons.
Guzman is notoriously escaped from two maximum security prisons in Mexico. This has resulted in very high security in the courthouse, with additional metal detectors and bomb sniffer dogs.
