Cocaine kingpin ‘El Chapo’ goes on trial

Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was scheduled to go on trial in New York yesterday, accused of running the world’s biggest drug cartel and spending a quarter of a century smuggling more than 155 tonnes of cocaine into the United States. During the mammoth trial in Brooklyn, which will cost millions of dollars and is expected to last more than four months, one of the world’s most notorious criminals will finally face the US justice system. Prosecutors spent years piecing together a sweeping case against Guzman, who was extradited in 2017 after twice escaping prison in Mexico. Experts say the government has a near watertight case that, if successful, will almost certainly send Guzman, 61, to a maximum-security US prison for the rest of his life.