In the United States begins the trial of the most famous criminal of our time, Guzman

Drug lord Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman, who was extradited to the US after two escapes from Mexican prisons, has been called "the most notorious criminal of our time."

He remained the most wanted fugitive in the United States for more than 20 years, and was the first since Al Capone to be named "public enemy number one" by the Chicago Crime Commission in 2013.

Now, almost two years after his extradition, Guzman faces trial on charges of leading the Sinaloa drug cartel and smuggling $14 billion worth of drugs, including heroin and cocaine, into the United States.

US prosecutors believe they have enough evidence to jail Guzman, 61, for the rest of his life in one of the US's most secure prisons for a life of crime, violence, death and destruction.

In total, Joaquin Guzman, known as El Chapo (“Shorty” in Spanish), was charged with 11 charges in the United States - he is accused of smuggling drugs, firearms and money laundering. Guzman himself denies the accusations against him.

The trial is expected to last four months. The process began on Monday with the selection of the jury, the debate of the parties will open on November 13.

The trial of the drug lord seems to many analysts an extraordinary event for the United States. And that's why:

1 Money

Prosecutors accuse Shorty of money laundering and demand the removal of 14 billion dollars from the accounts.

In 2009, Forbes magazine estimated Guzman’s fortune at 1 billion dollars, while the annual income of the Sinaloa cartel was estimated at 3 billion dollars.

At the same time, according to the magazine, the cartel supplied 25% of all drugs to the USA from Mexico.

US prosecutors claim that the drug cartel Guzman supplied the US with huge quantities of drugs, including heroin, cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamine.

2. Charges

It is assumed that the trial of Guzmán will be the largest lawsuit concerning crimes related to drugs.

The prosecution submitted thousands of case documents to the jury, including photographs, as well as about 117 thousands of audio recordings.

Among the charges brought against Guzman is involvement in 33 murders.

During the preliminary hearings, Judge Brian Kogan asked prosecutors to reduce the number of charges related to involvement in the killings.

“This is a case of drug trafficking and related murders. I will not allow you to present this case as a case of murder and drug crimes,” the New York Times quotes the judge as saying.

The beginning of the trial was postponed several times.

Last week, the judge refused to open the process, after the prosecutors had submitted 14 thousands of pages of case documents. Before the scheduled hearing date, the defense did not have time to get acquainted with the new documents.

3. Security

Gusman’s two escapes from prison and his connection with the drug cartel affected special security measures that were introduced during the four months of the trial of Shorty.

Фото: Depositphotos

12 jurors and 6 their deputies will be brought to the courtroom and taken away from the courtroom accompanied by police, and the area around the courthouse will be patrolled by armed guards with trained dogs to search for explosives. Metal detectors will be installed at the entrance to the building.

After his extradition, Guzman is being held in a maximum security prison in the south of Manhattan - in an isolated cell where he is kept 23 hours a day.

During the preliminary hearings, which were held in Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Bridge was blocked for the convoy, which included a special forces unit and an ambulance. From the air for the convoy was observed from helicopters.

In order to avoid the repetition of this nightmarish logistics, it was suggested that during the trial of Guzmán the defendant would not leave the courthouse and would be detained there.

Guzman was able to escape from prison in Mexico twice: the first time he hid in a laundry cart, the second time he ran through a tunnel dug up to a prison shower.

4. Public attention

“In some ways, this is an unprecedented trial, and the public attention to this case is enormous,” Judge Kogan said in his ruling on the need for increased security measures for jurors.

The judge also noted that the story had been “dramatized” in the media even before the trial began.

Фото: Depositphotos

It was a reference to the fact that the story of the drug lord Gusman turned out to be very interesting for film producers and actors. First of all, we are talking about actress Kate del Castillo and filmmaker and actor Shona Penne.

Penn met with the drug lord in 2016 to interview him for Rolling Stone magazine. The film director did not know then that this meeting allowed law enforcement agencies to track down Gusman.

“This is not just the story of a criminal, and this is not about the fight against drugs. He [Guzman] became a pop culture icon,” says Professor Fritz Umbach of the John Jay College of Forensic Jurisprudence in New York.

Last spring, newspapers wrote that Hollywood director Michael Bay was considering a proposal by Sony to remove a crime drama about drug lord Guzmán.

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