Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera, more commonly known by the nickname "El Chapo", once considered the most powerful and feared drug trafficker in the entire world, was found guilty on all counts related to leading Mexico's Sinaloa cartel on Tuesday. Cogan says it made him "very proud to be an American".
Even when Guzman was recaptured in 2016 before his extradition to the U.S., he was plotting another escape, prosecutor Andrea Goldbarg said in closing arguments. Guzman's lawyers did not deny his crimes as much as argue he was a fall guy for government witnesses who were more evil than he was. Among them were Guzman's former Sinaloa lieutenants, a computer encryption expert and a Colombian cocaine supplier who underwent extreme plastic surgery to disguise his appearance.
In one of the trial's final days, Guzman told the judge he would not testify in his own defense.
The trial also featured extensive testimony about corruption in Mexico, most of it involving bribes to law enforcement, military and local government officials so the cartel could carry out its day-to-day drug shipping operations undisturbed. He took off running.
In 2015, he pulled off another jail break, escaping a maximum-security prison through a 10-metre deep tunnel. "In front of you".