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NEW YORK, New York (AP) – He is accused of having participated in dozens of murders, of having used his drug cartel to smuggle more than 200 tons of cocaine into the United States and even to have carried out the drug. large-scale operation behind bars. It was at that time that he was not busy escaping from prison – twice.
The almost mythic criminal pedigree of Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, who was extradited in 2017 to face charges of drug conspiracy in the United States, sparked security concerns at his next trial in March. New York, which have sometimes attracted as much attention as the sensational allegations of the case.
Look at these concerns for a trial that begins Monday with jury selection. Opening statements are likely on November 13th.
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WITNESSES IN THE CROSSHAIRS
Prosecutors said that Guzman routinely ordered the assassination of all those who were bothered during his heyday in Mexico as head of the Sinaloa cartel.
In his own way, a group of government witnesses who survived the wave of violence and should give details of the ruthless way in which he kept power for 20 years in the merciless world of international drug trafficking. The defense says that the witnesses are the real bad guys whose testimony should not be trusted.
The names of the witnesses were recorded on court documents. Prosecutors said their identities should be protected because their cooperation could place them at the center of an avenging cartel. According to court documents, some are held in special units of the prison for their protection, while others participate in witness protection programs.
The list of people who could come to the witness stand is long. The twin brothers Pedro and Margarito Flores, former Chicago-based narcotics wholesalers, had previously worked with Guzman prior to their arrest in 2008. They agreed to cooperate and record telephone conversations over the size of the smuggled shipments. on boats and planes.
In one of them, a voice identified by Guzman asks, "How much can you get rid of in a month?"
The brothers now imprisoned have paid a heavy price for turning around: prosecutors said that in 2009, their father was murdered in Mexico by a team of cartels.
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FORTIFY THE PALACE OF JUSTICE
At the pre-trial hearings, heavily armed federal officers and bomb sniffer dogs patrolled the scene. All those who tried to attend the hearings were passing through airport-type metal detectors at the entrance of the courthouse and at the door of the same hearing room.
The judge also agreed with prosecutors that the jury of the case should remain anonymous, a typical measure of terrorism or crowd cases when intimidation of the jury is a matter of concern.
Nobody hides the sinister nature of the case to potential jurors. The questions they ask themselves in an initial selection form ask them if they have ever heard of "El Chapo" and: "
Jurors will also be escorted to the courthouse by federal agents and sequestered from the public during their stay in the interior. In particular, the judge relied on the prosecutors' argument that Guzman's agreement "uses" sicarios ", which have committed hundreds of acts of violence, including murders, assaults and kidnappings. . "
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KEEP AN EYE ON EL CHAPO
After Guzman was brought to New York, the authorities decided that he should be placed in solitary confinement in a high security wing of a federal prison in Manhattan, which hosts terrorists and terrorists. notorious mobsters.
In his calculation, Guzman gave instructions to his lieutenants from Mexican prisons and their accreditation as an escapee twice. The second time, it was through a tunnel a kilometer and a half (1.6 kilometers) dug up to the shower in his cell.
The logistical problem for its guardians: the case is being prosecuted in the East River in federal court in Brooklyn.
For the pre-trial hearings, the authorities decided to move him from prison to closure of the Brooklyn Bridge in order to make room for a procession of police officers including a SWAT team and an ambulance, all followed by helicopters.
The judge indicated that he thought the time and expense involved would represent a logistical nightmare – and a disadvantage for New Yorkers who rely on the bridge to get to work – for a trial of a duration expected four months. He said that there would be adjustments, but did not elaborate.
It is now speculated that a special cell for Guzman was set up in the bowels of the courthouse where he will spend the night after his days in court.
But nobody says. For security reasons, of course.
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