El Chapo trial: Joaquín Guzman joked about arming infant daughter with AK47 in texts to wife, court hears
Trial of Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzman is expected to last four months
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Your support makes all the difference.The trial of notorious drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo“ Guzman continues in Brooklyn, New York, and is expected to last into early 2019.
This is the first time a major Mexican drug lord has been tried in a US court and pleaded not guilty. The trial has become increasingly tense in recent days, as Guzman’s attorney seeks to undermine testimonies from major drug traffickers.
Guzman, 61, faces a 17 count indictment that covers nearly three decades of alleged criminal activities. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Follow updates form the trial as they happened
Agencies contributed to this report
The defence argued that Ms Coronel was using a translation app on her phone, while prosecutors were concerned that Ms Coronel might be trying to take a picture of one of the witnesses on her phone.
One witness yesterday had his appearance protected, with courtroom sketch artists not allowed to draw him.
The judge has scolded the defence team and said that s "unacceptable" fro Ms Coronel to have a phone.
The judge also had words with both legal teams about lawyers only being allowed to bring one phone into the courtroom.
Guzman, 61, faces 17 criminal counts and a possible sentence of life in prison. He has been subject to exceptionally tight security protocols, known as special administrative measures or SAMs, thanks to his two escapes from high-security Mexican prisons and what prosecutors have described as a history of intimidating witnesses.
Prosecutors said in Tuesday's motion that some people, whose names were redacted, "appear to have used cellular telephones in concert with an attorney visit to the defendant following two trial days last week to facilitate unauthorized and, under the SAMs, impermissible contact between the defendant and M. Coronel."
Security is so stringent that Guzman was not even allowed a brief hug with Ms Coronel at the outset of the trial.
A former top lieutenant of Mr Guzmán has testified against the alleged drug kingpin, describing his rise to power. During two days of questioning, Miguel Ángel Martínez Martínez described Mr Guzmán as an ambitious smuggler who started small but ended up becoming the alleged head of the Sinaloa cartel.
Among the witnesses at the El Chapo trial, Martínez was one of those most close to Mr Guzmán during his alleged reign. Martínez provided considerable details about El Chapo's life and alleged experiences in drug wars and revolutionizing cocaine distribution.
Martínez was protected by high security, as he is in witness protection. Courtroom sketch artists were barred from drawing him.
During the trial, witnesses have revealed the lavish lifestyle enjoyed by the alleged kingpin.
According to witnesses, Mr Guzman had four private jets, kept zoo animals, commissioned a folk song costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, and gave his workers diamond watches. He allegedly flew piles of cash from country to country and kept stockpiles in his homes.
"He had houses at every single beach," said Miguel Ángel Martínez Martínez, his former top lieutenant, according to The New York Times. "He had a ranch in every single state.”
Mr Guzman's lawyers have accused a prosecution witness of lying because he "hates" Mr Guzmán, CBS reports.
Mr Martínez, a star witness and a former alleged top lieutenant to Mr Guzmán, has testified extensively on Mr Guzmán's alleged rise to power, lavish lifestyle, methods of transporting narcotics, and many successful and attempted murders.
In response, the defense suggested that Mr Martínez's accusations are lies "because you hate the man right there, right?"
Through a translator, Mr Martínez said "I hate Mr Guzmán, yes."
Convicted Columbian drug trafficker Juan Carlos Ramírez Abadía, also known as El Chupeta, is currently testifying against Mr Guzmán, VICE News journalist Keegan Hamilton reports. Mr Abadía confessed to killing at least one person and working with Mr Guzmán for years.
Good Morning and welcome to our round-up of the end of another week in the El Chapo trial.
Former Colombian drug lord, Juan Carlos Ramirez Abadia, testified on Thursday about his lucrative drug-trafficking alliance with ‘El Chapo’. Ramirez Abadia is known for have several plastic surgery operations on his face intended to “hide his identity”.
He told the jury in New York that he bribed authorities in Colombia to destroy any criminal records naming him to better stay ahead of the law while he was overseeing the Norte del Valle cartel.
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