The 5 craziest moments from the El Chapo trial
The Brooklyn-based trial which ended on Tuesday with a guilty verdict on all 10 counts for notorious drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, was rife with drama. Here are four of the wildest moments from the court proceedings, which included 200 hours of testimony from 56 witnesses.
1. Naked escape: Guzmán's former mistress Lucero Guadalupe Sánchez Lopez (who is incarcerated following an arrest and guilty plea on drug-related charges) took the witness stand in January and described how, in 2014, she and Guzmán fled from authorities through an underground tunnel beneath a safe house. Sanchez said that Guzmán was naked when they took off. He led her to a trap door beneath the bathtub through which they made their escape.
2. $500 million jalapeño cans: One "Sinaloa insider" testified that workers in Mexico would pack 25 to 30 tons of cocaine hidden in jalapeño cans, which was worth up to $500 million, per year. The witness also said that the workers would get contact highs in the process.
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3. Extravagant weaponry: In November witness Jesus Zambada García revealed that Guzmán owned and carried a diamond-encrusted gun, engraved with his initials. He also was known to carry a gold-plated AK-47.
4. Revealed corruption: Alex Cifuentes, Guzmán's onetime right-hand man, testified that Guzmán once paid a $100 million bribe to former Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto. The former president allegedly requested $250 million, but has denied taking any bribe from anyone involved in the drug trade.
5. Seeing double: In January, Mexican actor Alejandro Edda, who plays Guzmán in Netflix's Narcos: Mexico, went to court to see the man he portrays for himself. Edda said that he decided to go in order to study Guzmán's mannerisms — which was difficult due to the lack of video of the cartel boss. "It was very surreal," Edda said of the experience. "I'm shaking."
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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
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