International drug lord faces slew of charges in US

A major development in America’s war on drugs occurred Jan. 19, but it was overshadowed by the inauguration of President Donald J. Trump.

Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, head of the powerful Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico, was extradited to the United States and arrived the night before Trump’s Jan. 20 swearing-in ceremony.

U.S. Attorney Robert L. Capers in New York called the drug lord’s presence on American soil “a milestone in our pursuit of Chapo Guzman.”

One of the most-wanted characters in the international drug trade faces a possible sentence of life in prison. Federal prosecutors are also seeking a $14 billion forfeiture.

Guzman will not face the death penalty because that was one of the conditions the Mexican government set in order for the extradition to occur. He appeared in U.S. District Court and pleaded not guilty to the charges.

According to the Washington Post, prosecutors have filed a 56-page court document that lays out the history of the drug trade in the Americas and traces how “El Chapo” rose to power in it through unparalleled ruthlessness and efficiency.

For nearly three decades, prosecutors allege, the drug lord built himself an international, multibillion-dollar business, protecting it with a “veritable army, ready to war with competitors and anyone Guzman deemed to be a traitor,” the Post reported, quoting from the court document.

He is charged in federal courts in six states with a long list of crimes, including leading a continuing enterprise and importing and distributing narcotics, according to the newspaper.

Guzman was captured a year ago in Mexico after he had escaped from a maximum-security prison in July 2015.

The Mexican government was embarrassed by the drug lord’s brazen prison break and was shaken by charges of widespread corruption within its security forces.

Proof of his infiltration of Mexico’s criminal-justice system was seen in the mile-long tunnel dug from his shower room to a vacant structure outside the prison. The tunnel was equipped with lights and a ventilation system and contained a motorcycle on tracks.

Such an excavation project could not have taken place without the knowledge and consent of prison officials. Indeed, there was an airplane waiting to fly the drug lord to his hideaway in the mountains.

It is noteworthy that a year and a half before the escape, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration officials alerted Mexican authorities about several plans for Guzman’s freedom. He had been captured in February 2014 after a previous prison breakout.

Shortly after his capture, members of his family and drug-world associates began considering “potential operations to free Guzman,” the Associated Press reported.

He was captured after an hour-long shootout between gunmen and Mexican marines at a home in Los Mochis, a seaside city in Guzman’s home state of Sinaloa. Five suspects were killed and six others arrested. One marine was injured.

INTENSE NEGOTIATIONS

Guzman’s extradition to the United States comes on the heels of intense negotiations between American and Mexican officials.

There should be no doubt that the government in Mexico City wanted to rid itself of this scourge and to avoid any retribution from members of his cartel.

U.S. prosecutors expect to call a large number of witnesses to testify against Guzman, including dozens who had face-to-face dealings with him and who can describe “every aspect of Guzman’s organization from its inception in the late 1980s through his building of an international empire,” the Post reported.

President Trump, who made building a wall along the Mexican border, has not publicly commented on the extradition and impending trial of “El Chapo.” But Trump must be pleased that a major player in the global drug trade has been taken off the streets.

One of the arguments he has made for building the wall is that the free flow of illegal drugs into the U.S. has been responsible for the intractable addiction problem and the high crime rate in major cities in America.

Guzman’s trial will not only give Americans an inside look into one of the major drug cartels in the world, but it will also provide insight into the networks that exist in the distribution of cocaine and other illegal drugs.