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Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán's trial: From shocking to bizarre | |
(1 day later) | |
The trial of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán has provided shocking revelations about the Mexican drug lord's life. | |
Below are some of the most disturbing testimonies by witnesses in the high-profile trial in New York as well as some allegations which are plain bizarre. | |
Hi-tech murder room | Hi-tech murder room |
A trusted hitman for "El Chapo kept" a "murder room" in his mansion on the US border, which featured a drain on the floor to more easily clean up after slayings. | |
Edgar Galvan testified in January that Antonio "Jaguar" Marrufo had a room with white tiles that was sound-proofed "so no noise comes out". | Edgar Galvan testified in January that Antonio "Jaguar" Marrufo had a room with white tiles that was sound-proofed "so no noise comes out". |
"In that house, no-one comes out," Galvan told jurors. | "In that house, no-one comes out," Galvan told jurors. |
Galvan said his role in the organisation was to smuggle weapons into the US, so that Marrufo could use them to "clear" the region of rivals. | Galvan said his role in the organisation was to smuggle weapons into the US, so that Marrufo could use them to "clear" the region of rivals. |
At the time, he was living in El Paso, Texas, while Marrufo was living in Ciudad Juarez, just across the US-Mexico border. | At the time, he was living in El Paso, Texas, while Marrufo was living in Ciudad Juarez, just across the US-Mexico border. |
But both men are now in jail on firearms and gun charges. | But both men are now in jail on firearms and gun charges. |
Narco-mistresses | Narco-mistresses |
"El Chapo" used his slew of mistresses to help further his narcotics operation - and his text history proves it, the FBI alleges. | |
Thanks to the Flexi-spy software Guzmán used to spy on his wife, Emma Coronel, and the women with whom he had affairs, the FBI was able to present his texts in court. | |
Guzmán and Ms Coronel fawned over their daughters in many texts, as parents do, but some had a distinctly "El Chapo" sensibility. | |
In one sent on the twins' six-month birthday, the New York Daily News reported, he said: "Our [daughter] is fearless, I'm going to give her an AK-47 so she can hang with me." | In one sent on the twins' six-month birthday, the New York Daily News reported, he said: "Our [daughter] is fearless, I'm going to give her an AK-47 so she can hang with me." |
Another damaging series of texts relayed how El Chapo fled a villa during a raid by US and Mexican officials. | Another damaging series of texts relayed how El Chapo fled a villa during a raid by US and Mexican officials. |
"I had to run out at three in the afternoon," Guzmán told his wife. "I saw them pounding on the door next door, but I was able to jump out." | |
He then reportedly asked her to bring him new clothes, shoes and black moustache dye. | He then reportedly asked her to bring him new clothes, shoes and black moustache dye. |
Guzmán tracked around 50 people through phones and computers, according to the drug lord's ex-techie, Cristian Rodriguez. | |
Mr Rodriguez told the court "El Chapo" frequently turned on his lovers' microphones after ending calls with them "to see what they would say about him", the Daily News reported. | |
One of those lovers was Agustina Cabanillas Acosta, who allegedly helped "El Chapo" make deals across the region. | |
In between sweet nothings, they discussed drug shipments and "non-stop" sales. | In between sweet nothings, they discussed drug shipments and "non-stop" sales. |
The alleged kingpin also reportedly paid for Ms Acosta's liposuction. | The alleged kingpin also reportedly paid for Ms Acosta's liposuction. |
Ms Acosta, meanwhile, was well aware of her lover's snooping - "I'm way smarter than him," she reportedly texted her friends. | Ms Acosta, meanwhile, was well aware of her lover's snooping - "I'm way smarter than him," she reportedly texted her friends. |
Enemy buried alive | |
In the most gruesome testimony to date, witness Isaias Valdez Rios described seeing "El Chapo" brutally beat at least three men before shooting them. | |
In one incident, Mr Valdez Rios said two people originally from Sinaloa who had joined the rival Los Zetas cartel were deemed traitors and rounded up by Guzmán's hitmen. | |
For more than three hours the drug lord brutally beat them, Guzmán's former bodyguard said. | |
"They were completely like rag dolls - their bones were totally broken. They could not move. And Joaquin was still hitting them with the branch and his weapon too," Mr Valdez Rios said. | |
The two men were later driven to an area where they could see a large bonfire. | |
There, the jury was told, "El Chapo" cursed each one before shooting them in the head with his rifle. | |
The leader of the Sinaloa cartel ordered that they be thrown in the bonfire, telling his men that he did not want any bones to remain, Mr Valdez Rios said. | |
He said the third man murdered by "El Chapo" was a member of the rival Arellano Felix cartel. | |
"He had burns made with an iron on his back, his shirt was stuck to his skin. He had burns made with a car lighter all over his body. His feet were burned," Mr Valdez Rios told the court. | |
The man was then locked in a wooden structure for days. Then he was brought blindfolded to a graveyard, his hands and legs bound. | |
"El Chapo" started to interrogate him, and while he was responding, shot him with his handgun. | |
The man was still gasping for air - but he was dumped in a hole and buried alive, Mr Valdez Rios said. | |
Prison escape | Prison escape |
The secrets of the drug lord's daring escape from a Mexican maximum security prison in 2015 were revealed by a former cartel associate. | |
Testifying in court, Damaso Lopez said his boss' wife and sons had been involved from the start to get El Chapo out of Altiplano prison. | Testifying in court, Damaso Lopez said his boss' wife and sons had been involved from the start to get El Chapo out of Altiplano prison. |
He mentioned secret meetings in 2014, where Emma Coronel delivered detailed instructions from her husband to the plotters. | He mentioned secret meetings in 2014, where Emma Coronel delivered detailed instructions from her husband to the plotters. |
"A tunnel had to be built and they [plotters] should start to work," Ms Coronel said. | "A tunnel had to be built and they [plotters] should start to work," Ms Coronel said. |
The kingpin's sons later bought a property near the prison, and the digging started. | |
A GPS watch was smuggled into the prison, giving the plotters exact co-ordinates where the drug lord's prison cell was. | |
The one-mile (1.6km) tunnel took months to complete, and "El Chapo" had complained that digging was too loud and he could hear the "noise" from his cell, Mr Lopez said. | |
He added that the concrete below his boss' cell "had been very difficult to break through". | He added that the concrete below his boss' cell "had been very difficult to break through". |
Despite all the problems, "El Chapo" escaped in July 2015, riding on a specially adapted small motorcycle through the tunnel. | |
Naked escapades | Naked escapades |
Yet another mistress, Lucero Guadalupe Sanchez Lopez, revealed to the court details of the drug lord's 2014 escape from Mexican marines. | |
When the marines burst into his safehouse, Ms Lopez said the alleged drug lord took off running - stark naked. | |
They used an escape tunnel under a bathtub to flee, trudging through mud for an hour before surfacing, according to the New York Post. | They used an escape tunnel under a bathtub to flee, trudging through mud for an hour before surfacing, according to the New York Post. |
As the mistress began to cry while testifying, the drug lord's wife, Ms Coronel, reportedly cackled in the gallery. | |
Just days after his affair with Ms Lopez, "El Chapo" would be captured by authorities - once again naked - in bed with Ms Coronel. | |
She and her husband were both in matching burgundy-coloured jackets during Ms Lopez's testimony, in an attempt to show their solidarity, reports the BBC's Tara McKelvey from court. | She and her husband were both in matching burgundy-coloured jackets during Ms Lopez's testimony, in an attempt to show their solidarity, reports the BBC's Tara McKelvey from court. |
Blinged-out weaponry | Blinged-out weaponry |
The drug lord's reputed extravagance extended even to his extensive collection of weaponry, the trial has heard. | |
Among his prized possessions were a diamond-encrusted, monogrammed pistol and a gold-plated AK-47. | Among his prized possessions were a diamond-encrusted, monogrammed pistol and a gold-plated AK-47. |
Fatal handshake snub | Fatal handshake snub |
Much of the evidence against the suspected narco chief has come from the prosecution's star witness, Jesús Zambada. | Much of the evidence against the suspected narco chief has come from the prosecution's star witness, Jesús Zambada. |
Mr Zambada testified that the alleged drug kingpin had the brother of another cartel leader killed because he did not shake Guzmán's hand. | |
Rodolfo Fuentes had met Guzmán to make peace in a cartel and gang war, the court heard. | |
"When [Rodolfo] left, Chapo gave him his hand and said, 'See you later, friend,' and Rodolfo just left him standing there with his hand extended," Mr Zambada said. | "When [Rodolfo] left, Chapo gave him his hand and said, 'See you later, friend,' and Rodolfo just left him standing there with his hand extended," Mr Zambada said. |
Mr Fuentes and his wife were shot and killed outside a cinema soon afterwards. | Mr Fuentes and his wife were shot and killed outside a cinema soon afterwards. |
Former Sinaloa lieutenant Miguel Angel Martinez also testified for the government, telling the jury he once asked "El Chapo" why he killed people. | |
"And he answered me: 'Either your mom's going to cry or their mom's going to cry.'" | "And he answered me: 'Either your mom's going to cry or their mom's going to cry.'" |
Death for lying | |
A former cartel leader told the court how "El Chapo" once had his own cousin killed after the man lied about being out of town. | |
Juan Guzman had told the drug boss he would be travelling, only to be spotted at a park in the city. | |
"My compadre became angry, because he had lied to him," ex-cartel capo Damaso Lopez Nunez said. | "My compadre became angry, because he had lied to him," ex-cartel capo Damaso Lopez Nunez said. |
To make an example out of Juan, "El Chapo" allegedly ordered him to be interrogated and assassinated. Juan's secretary, who was with him at the time, was also killed. | |
The drug boss' mistress Ms Lopez later told the court she remembered being with him when the news of Juan's death arrived. | |
"He said from that point on, whoever betrayed him, they would die," Ms Lopez said. "Whether they were family or women, they were going to die." | "He said from that point on, whoever betrayed him, they would die," Ms Lopez said. "Whether they were family or women, they were going to die." |
328 million lines of coke | 328 million lines of coke |
Assistant US Attorney Adam Fels said in his opening argument that "El Chapo" had sent "more than a line of cocaine for every single person in the United States" - in just four of his shipments. | |
That amounts to over 328 million lines of cocaine, said the prosecutor. | That amounts to over 328 million lines of cocaine, said the prosecutor. |
Mr Zambada said that once, in 1994, Guzmán gave the order to sink a boat carrying 20 tonnes of cocaine to evade authorities. | |
Bazooka target practice | Bazooka target practice |
The court also heard that Guzmán once used a bazooka for target practice - to relax on a family holiday. | |
Mr Zambada said "El Chapo" took the anti-tank rocket launcher with him on a trip with relatives in 2005. | |
He decided to "test out" the weapon after the group had finished target practice with assault rifles, according to the witness. | He decided to "test out" the weapon after the group had finished target practice with assault rifles, according to the witness. |
A $50m bribe fund | A $50m bribe fund |
Some of the biggest news from testimony was how the Sinaloa cartel allegedly paid off a host of top Mexican officials to ensure their drug business ran smoothly. | Some of the biggest news from testimony was how the Sinaloa cartel allegedly paid off a host of top Mexican officials to ensure their drug business ran smoothly. |
Mr Zambada said the traffickers had $50m (£39m) in protection money for former Mexican Secretary of Public Security García Luna, so that corrupt officers would be appointed to head police operations. | Mr Zambada said the traffickers had $50m (£39m) in protection money for former Mexican Secretary of Public Security García Luna, so that corrupt officers would be appointed to head police operations. |
Mr Zambada said he gave the money to Mr Luna in briefcases full of cash. Mr Luna has denied the allegations. | Mr Zambada said he gave the money to Mr Luna in briefcases full of cash. Mr Luna has denied the allegations. |
When former Mexico City Mayor Gabriel Regino was in line to become the next secretary of security, Mr Zambada says the cartel bribed him, too. | When former Mexico City Mayor Gabriel Regino was in line to become the next secretary of security, Mr Zambada says the cartel bribed him, too. |
Mr Regino, who is now a professor, has also denied the claims. | Mr Regino, who is now a professor, has also denied the claims. |
'Narco-saint' at court | 'Narco-saint' at court |
A 6in (15cm) figurine of a folk hero dubbed the narco-saint has been spotted on a shelf in a conference room used by the defendant's lawyers at the court, the New York Post reported. | A 6in (15cm) figurine of a folk hero dubbed the narco-saint has been spotted on a shelf in a conference room used by the defendant's lawyers at the court, the New York Post reported. |
The statue of Jesús Malverde, which has him seated on a purple throne with bags of cash, appeared on Wednesday, one of Guzmán's lawyers told the newspaper. | |
Jesús Malverde has been celebrated as a Robin Hood-type hero who, legend says, stole from the rich and gave to the poor in the early 1900s. | Jesús Malverde has been celebrated as a Robin Hood-type hero who, legend says, stole from the rich and gave to the poor in the early 1900s. |
A private zoo | A private zoo |
Mr Martinez told the court Guzmán was so wealthy, he had a private zoo on top of his numerous properties - including a $10m (£8) beach house as well as a yacht he named after himself ("Chapito"). | |
Built in the early '90s, El Chapo's zoo reportedly had lions, tigers, and crocodiles, as well as a little train to ferry guests through it. | Built in the early '90s, El Chapo's zoo reportedly had lions, tigers, and crocodiles, as well as a little train to ferry guests through it. |
The property also had a house, pool and tennis courts nearby, Mr Martinez said. | The property also had a house, pool and tennis courts nearby, Mr Martinez said. |