The trial of Joaquin Guzman Loera — better known as “El Chapo,” a drug lord infamous for escaping a Mexican prison via tunnel in 2015 — kicked off Tuesday in New York City and is expected to last four months.
It’s been full of crazy details.
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Guzman’s “weapons of choice” were a diamond-encrusted pistol engraved with his initials and a gold-plated AK-47, reported USA Today. Witness Jesus Zambada, a former accountant for Guzman’s cartel, said Guzman took great pleasure in taking out his rivals and even ordered hits on his own family, reported the Daily Mail.
The prosecution would show jurors evidence of seized narcotics totaling “more than a line of cocaine for every single person in the United States,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Fels said, according to Reuters.
Fels said that Guzman made billions of dollars trafficking cocaine through partnerships with Colombian cartels, countering the defendant’s claim that he is a little fish in a big, big pond.
The leader of Guzman’s defense team, A. Eduardo Balarezo, is “experienced in drug-trafficking and mob cases,” reported The Wall Street Journal. But another of Guzman’s attorneys, Jeffrey Lichtman, might grab attention for his previous work for famous defendants including mob boss John Gotti Jr. and rapper The Game. – READ MORE