‘El Chapo’ hears exprotege give damaging evidence
NEW YORK: Joaquin ‘‘El Chapo’’ Guzman’s trafficking trial resumed yesterday with a Sinaloa Cartel operative fresh off a guilty plea in Chicago giving insider details of the Mexican drug lord’s life — including his 2001 prison break.
Vicente Zambada Niebla (43), the son of reigning Sinaloa kingpin Ismael (El Mayo) Zambada, walked into the Brooklyn courtroom and eerily exchanged smiles and nods with Chapo, whose real name is Joaquin Guzman Loera.
In early November, Vicente pleaded guilty in Chicago to trafficking thousands of kilos of Colombian cocaine through Mexico to the US using submarines, speedboats and private aircraft, court records show.
A top Chapo protege before his 2009 arrest in Mexico City, Vicente took the witness stand with the hope of receiving a reduced sentence and eventual US visa.
He told jurors he first met Chapo when he was 15 years old and his father started doing business with the upandcoming narco.
Vicente said his role in the enterprise was to coordinate shipments from South and Central America up to the US border, communicate messages and ensure payment got to his father.
Vicente gave intimate details of the cartel’s inner workings and the close relationship forged between his father and Chapo, who has pleaded not guilty to more than a dozen charges of trafficking, conspiracy and money laundering at the trial now under way in federal court.
Vicente said a major moment in the partnership involved Chapo’s 2001 escape from a Mexican prison. While many claim Chapo essentially walked out of the Puente Grande prison in Jalisco thanks to bribes and corruption, Vicente testified that the drug lord personally told him the legend involving a laundry cart was true. Joaquin ‘‘El Chapo’’ Guzman arrives at Long Island MacArthur Airport in New York after his extradition from Mexico. Centre: A diamondencrusted pistol government witness Jesus Zambada said belonged to Guzman. Right: Assistant US Attorney Amanda Liskamm questions Vicente Zambada Niebla in the witness box during the trial of Guzman, in this courtroom sketch in Brooklyn Federal Court yesterday.
Vicente said Chapo told him he worked closely with Francisco (El Chito) Camberos Rivera, the crooked prison guard who talked his way through the prison checkpoints pushing the laundry cart.
Chapo said he listened closely and counted the number of clicks
to mark their progress through the prison, Vicente testified.
When they got to the last door, Chito let the cart roll away from him, and Chapo was scared it might tumble over, exposing his hiding place, the kingpin allegedly told Vicente.
Vicente claimed the prison’s
director and former Mexican president Vicente Fox had no previous knowledge of the escape, despite reports to the contrary.
He said Chapo claimed that limiting the plan to a small group was essential to its success.
Vicente said Chapo was near
penniless after the escape, so his father stepped in to help — thereby sealing their bond.
Vicente said his father offered to give Chapo a major cut of his cocaine shipments because it wasn’t safe for him start conducting business on his own. — New York Daily News