Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman will spend the rest of his life behind bars in U.S. federal prison.
U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan handed down the sentence Wednesday, which includes an extra 30 years in addition to the life sentence. He was also ordered to pay $12.6 billion in forfeiture. The 62-year-old gained notoriety for running the Sinaloa drug cartel, which is responsible for numerous murders, violence, and drug trafficking.
Guzman was found guilty of murder conspiracy and drug trafficking charges in February in a much-publicized trial. The kingpin is known for breaking out of two different Mexican prisons before being brought to the U.S. to stand trial. Prosecutors have described him as “ruthless and bloodthirsty.”
Prior to his sentencing, Guzman complained to the judge in court that he was denied a fair trial and that the proceedings were “stained” by juror misconduct “when the whole world was watching.” His attorneys asked for a new trial after a report surfaced that jurors viewed media coverage of the trial. Guzman also objected to the conditions in which he is being jailed in New York.
“The long road that brought ‘El Chapo’ Guzman Loera to a United States courtroom is lined with drugs, death, and destruction, but ends today with justice,” Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski said in a press release. “Thanks to the unflagging efforts of the Department of Justice and the law enforcement community over the past 25 years, this notorious leader of one of the largest drug trafficking organizations in the Western hemisphere, the Sinaloa Cartel, will spend the rest of his life behind bars.”
Guzman is expected to serve his time in a 7-foot by 12-foot cell at the “Supermax” prison in Florence, Colorado, where other inmates like Ted Kaczynski, Terry Nichols, Eric Rudolph, and numerous al Qaeda terrorists are housed.
