El Chapo Guzman in Brooklyn? Likely to Face Federal Drug Trafficking Charges in NYC
Reputed Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman is likely to be prosecuted in Brooklyn whenever he goes on trial on federal drug trafficking charges.
Guzman, who has a history of escaping from maximum security prisons in his homeland, has thus far been indicted by seven different prosecutor's office across the U.S., all of which are fighting to have him extradited to their jurisdiction to formally face charges.
Brooklyn Office Once led by Loretta Lynch
Speculation is Guzman will be sent to the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn, an office once run by current Attorney General Loretta Lynch. To date, attorneys for Guzman have been vigorously fighting all extradition efforts and any attempt to move him is expected to be a lengthy process.
Just last year, the reputed boss of the notorious Sinaloa drug cartel escaped prison for a second time and remained on the run for several months before being recaptured after a deadly shootout with authorities.
Investigators later discovered he escaped by dredging through a mile-long tunnel where he allegedly had the assistance of several crooked prison officials.
In all the U.S. indictments, Guzman is fingered as the heartless leader of a drug empire that decimated American cities by smuggling untold amounts of cocaine, heroin and marijuana into neighborhoods via tunnels or secret compartments in cars, trucks and rail cars.
U.S. Murder Charges Dropped
Brooklyn prosecutors recently revised their indictment of Guzman by dropping more than a dozen death-penalty eligible accusations of specific murders by his henchmen in Mexico. The move is widely viewed as attempt to make extraditing him more plausible.
In the end, former federal prosecutor Jodi Avergun stressed that higher-ups are most interested in picking the jurisdiction "that has the best chance to win and put Chapo in prison for the rest of his life."
Brooklyn's chances are enhanced by the lengthy experience its staffers have in prosecuting international drug cartel cases. Over the last two plus decades, prosecutors there have built cases strong enough to convince authorities as far away as in Asia and South America to extradite defendants now serving lengthy sentences in US prisons.
Prosecutors in Brooklyn "have the sophistication to do this," Avergun added. "They've been doing it forever."
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