The tumultuous trial of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán was heading to a close on Thursday as prosecutors detailed how the defendant led a massive narcotics empire that was rife with violence and corruption, according to National Public Radio.
Prosecutors used ten boxes of documents from the Drug Enforcement Administration during their closing arguments as a means of showing just how long the trial took to assemble.
The evidence displayed included AK-47s, large cans of chiles that were previously used to smuggle cocaine into the United States, bazookas, a bulletproof vest, and hundreds of reports.
Guzman faces a number of charges, including international drug trafficking, conspiring to murder his rivals, gun charges, and money laundering.
The alleged leader of the El Sinaloa cartel has pleaded not guilty.
"Over 25 years, the defendant rose through the ranks to become one of the principal leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel," said federal prosecutor Andrea Goldbarg.
Goldbarg told jurors about the numerous murder conspiracies which allegedly involved El Chapo, including the testimony of his former mistress and ex-lawmaker Lucero Sanchez who described the day he learned about the murder of his cousin, Juan "Juancho" Guzman.
Goldbarg quoted the defendant telling Sanchez: "whoever betrayed him was going to die regardless if they were family or women. If people ratted him out they were going to die."
The prosecution also showed jurors photos of notebooks taken during a raid at one of Guzman's hideouts which had a "shopping list" of weapons Guzman wanted that included: 1,000 AK-47s, 1,000 40mm grenade launchers, and 1,000 grenades.
"Who travels in an armored car?" Goldbarg asked in her closing arguments. "Who has a rotating staff of cooks and secretaries? Who has an escape tunnel built directly into the tub of his bathroom? Who has an army of people to protect them from enemies and who has enemies that they need an army to protect them from? Who has diamond encrusted pistols? A boss of the Sinaloa Cartel does these things."
During the weeks of testimony, jurors heard from cooperating witnesses, law enforcement officials, victims, and more who described the workings of the cartel and numerous details about Guzman and his life spent in hiding.
"Not even the four walls of prison could keep him from the drug trade," Goldbarg said.
The defense team presented its own case on Tuesday, finishing in less than an hour with one FBI agent taking the stand.
The prosecution also presented a "stipulation" from another witness who was unable to physically appear in court but described how Guzman was more than $20 million in debt.
Defense lawyers have argued the government's 14 cooperating witnesses, many of whom took plea deals, were working together to try and blame Guzman for the cartel's operations.
But Goldbarg told jurors the witness accounts lined up because Guzman was the one behind the chaotic violence.
"Some of these cooperating witnesses don't even know each other, and those who do haven't seen each other in years," she said.
Goldbarg also called on the juror not to "let him escape responsibility" while referencing Guzman's previous prison escapes in Mexico.
The 61-year-old Guzman faces life in prison if convicted.
The defense will present its own closing arguments later on Thursday but have spent the 37-day trial attempting to chip away at the credibility of the witnesses presented by the prosecutor.
After the defense's closing arguments, the prosecution will offer a rebuttal and the jury will begin deliberations.
-WN.com, Maureen Foody
Photo:
AP / Eduardo Verdugo, FILE
