El Chapo speaks in court ahead of sentencing
In this Feb. 22, 2014 file photo, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman is escorted to a helicopter in handcuffs by Mexican Navy marines at a navy hanger in Mexico City. AP File Photo
NEW YORK — The Mexican drug lord known as El Chapo said Wednesday he was denied a fair trial.
Joaquin Guzman told a federal judge that his case was “stained” by juror misconduct.
He said the judge denied him a fair trial on drug trafficking charges “when the whole world was watching.”
He also complained about the conditions of his confinement in New York.
Guzman faces a mandatory life sentence for murder conspiracy and drug charges.
Guzman’s attorneys asked U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan to grant him a new trial following a report that jurors improperly viewed media coverage of the highly publicized trial. Cogan denied that request.
The 62-year-old Guzman was convicted in February on multiple conspiracy counts in an epic drug-trafficking case. The government said the guilty verdict at an 11-week trial triggered a mandatory sentence of life without parole.
Prosecutors said evidence showed that under Guzman’s orders, the Sinaloa cartel was responsible for multiple murders and for smuggling mountains of cocaine and other drugs into the United States during his 25-year reign. The defense said he was framed. /kga
