Chapo enraged
RIPS U.S. AFTER HE’S SENT TO ROT
Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, defiant and remorseless, couldn’t escape the truth: He will die in an American prison.
The elusive cartel boss lashed out in anger Wednesday before he was sentenced to a jail term of life plus 30 years at a Brooklyn Federal Court hearing where the bloodthirsty Guzman bizarrely painted himself as the victim.
Guzman, convicted five months ago by a Brooklyn jury, delivered a rambling 15-minute address in which he ignored the facts to claim he was railroaded during the 11-week trial. He ripped into Federal Judge Brian Cogan and whined about the conditions in his cell before and during the trial.
“Since the government will send me to a jail where my name will not ever be heard again, I take this opportunity to say there was no justice,” said Guzman, speaking through a translator. “You denied me a fair trial while the whole world was watching. … What happened here is very clear, that the United States is no better than any corrupt country that you don’t respect.”
Prosecutors actually called 56 witnesses, including a halfdozen Sinaloa cartel turncoats, in their detailed and damning case against the 62-year-old Guzman. In contrast, the defense rested after presenting just a single witness to the jury.
The once high-flying Guzman — who twice escaped from Mexican prisons — was expected to do his time in the federal “Supermax” prison in Florence, Colo., known as the “Alcatraz of the Rockies.”
“My guess is he’ll be on the next flight to Colorado,” said defense attorney William Purpura.
Guzman, who became an almost mythical figure during his long and lucrative reign atop the powerful cartel, unleashed his ire against prosecutors and the judge by declaring the case against him was rigged from the start.
“Why did we go to trial?” he asked rhetorically. “Why didn’t you sentence me on day one?”
Cogan, in addition to imposing the life term, ordered El Chapo to pay $12.6 billion in forfeiture. Guzman was linked to heroin and cocaine seizures of more than 130,000 kilos during his 25-year reign.
Guzman arrived at the courthouse under heavy security just before midnight Tuesday. Once the hearing began, he thanked his wife and friends for their support throughout the legal process. Loyal spouse Emma Coronel, 30, sat in the courtroom wearing a blackand-white outfit during the hearing.
Though impassive through most of the session, Guzman put one hand over his heart and waved with the other to his family before he was led from the courtroom. He also sported his signature mustache after appearing clean-shaven throughout the trial.
Coronel marched into the building early Wednesday with her eyes hidden behind a pair of sunglasses. The wife, who appeared frequently during her spouse’s trial, ran a gamut of media outside the courthouse just to get through the front doors and find her seat in the jam-packed courtroom.
Andrea Valez, an employee of El Chapo’s former assistant Alex Cifuentes, gave a victim impact statement in which she recounted how she was saved by the FBI after Guzman put a $1 million bounty on her head.
“I’m a miracle of God, because Mr. Guzman wanted to kill me,” she told the court. “If I left the organization, I could only do it in a [body] bag.”