Channel News Asia
From documents under seal and accomplices with colourful nicknames to suspicions about his wife and surreal details about his high-flying lifestyle, the first month of the US trial of Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman has been loaded with twists and turns.
Here are a few key moments and news notes from the proceedings in a federal courtroom in Brooklyn, where the alleged Sinaloa cartel co-founder is facing 11 trafficking, firearms and money laundering charges.
The trial, which began on Nov 5 with jury selection, is expected to last four months. He stands accused of smuggling more than 155 tonnes of cocaine into the United States over a period of 25 years.
If convicted, the 61-year-old Guzman could spend the rest of his life behind bars in a maximum security US prison.
Most of the trial documents have been kept under wraps: they are classified. Neither the media nor the public can access the motions or communications between the two sides and Judge Brian Cogan.
Prosecutors have justified the move by citing the security of the witnesses, who could be targets for payback doled out by El Chapo’s inner circle.
They have asked the defense team’s cross-examinations to be limited in scope, especially in terms of alleged kickbacks paid to the cartel by two former Mexican presidents.
Cogan has so far accepted most of the prosecution’s requests, and rejected news media pleas for better access to the documents.