In this courtroom drawing, Emma Coronel Aispuro, the wife of Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman is seated in the courtroom as the jury deliberates drug trafficking charges against her husband, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019, in New York. A jury at the U.S. trial of the infamous Mexican drug lord known as El Chapo has ended its second day of deliberations without a verdict. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)
Republished February 05, 2019 - 2:36 PM
Original Publication Date February 05, 2019 - 7:31 AM
NEW YORK - A jury at the U.S. trial of Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman concluded its second day of deliberations without a verdict Tuesday after jurors sent the judge a handful of notes indicating interest in the kingpin's alleged attempts at diversifying his smuggling operation to include methamphetamine.
One note asked for a reading of testimony about the Sinaloa cartel's efforts around 2005 to obtain ephedrine from Asia to produce meth. The jury also listened to an intercepted 2011 phone call in which Guzman talked about wanting more customers for "ice" in the United States.
In addition, the jury was provided transcripts of extensive testimony by two brothers from a Colombian drug-trafficking clan. The pair of narcos detailed how they used a fleet of private planes to supply tons of cocaine to the cartel during the Colombian-Mexican coke boom the 1990s and 2000s.
The brothers were among 14 co-operators to take the witness stand at trial, including many who described Guzman's willingness to use violence against the cartel's enemies. The defence has accused the co-operators of making him a scapegoat for their own crimes.
The 61-year-old Guzman attained near-mythical status by escaping jail twice in Mexico. He was recaptured and sent in 2017 to the United States, where he has been held in solitary confinement ever since.
He could get life in prison if convicted on multiple conspiracy charges.
News from © The Associated Press, 2019