Mexican drug kingpin 'El Chapo' sentenced to life plus 30 years

World Wednesday 17/July/2019 18:57 PM
By: Times News Service
Mexican drug kingpin 'El Chapo' sentenced to life plus 30 years

Brooklyn: A federal judge in Brooklyn, New York, has sentenced drug kingpin Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán to a term of life in prison plus 30 years for his role in leading Mexico's Sinaloa cartel. A life sentence was mandatory; U.S. prosecutors had asked that three decades be added onto Guzman's punishment.

"Guzmán told U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan before he was sentenced Wednesday that he was denied a fair trial,” people inside the courtroom reported, adding, "He said Cogan failed to thoroughly investigate claims of juror misconduct in the case.

Guzmán, 62, was extradited from his native Mexico to the United States in January 2017. The terms of his extradition included a pledge that US authorities would not seek the death penalty.

A federal jury convicted Guzmán in February, finding him guilty of a raft of serious charges, from 26 drug-related violations to a murder conspiracy. His conviction included crimes such as narcotics trafficking, using a firearm in drug crimes and money laundering.