EL Chapo - Drug Cartel Chief, arrested for Trafficking, conspiracy, firearms etc. *guilty* #2

[YESorNO]

Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 14h14 hours ago
Reminder: Chapo is being held in solitary confinement at a federal jail known as "Little Gitmo." He's allowed out of his cell for legal visits and one hour of exercise per day in a windowless room.

El Chapo’s memory is fading because of solitary confinement, lawyer says


Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 14h14 hours ago
Chapo has been trying to get access to bottled water for over a year now

El Chapo's attorneys say jail is worse for him than anybody else in the U.S.


Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 14h14 hours ago
Keegan Hamilton Retweeted malcolm beith

I've heard — but never confirmed — that Chapo has to cut his own hair with a mirror and a safety razor.

---malcolm beith‏ @mbeith
Replying to @keegan_hamilton @mccarthyryanj
fun fact: at Chapo's, Vicentillo's and Mochomo's court appearances, each defendant asked for a haircut. Judge in each case said this was an odd request, denied request. Former DEA official told me he didn't think prison barbers were likely on Sinaloa cartel payroll.
1:29 PM - 24 May 2019


El Chapo is lying about prison life to plot an escape: prosecutors

May 24, 2019

"Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman is only whining about his lack of earplugs and outdoor activity as an elaborate ruse to escape prison ahead of sentencing, according to a new court filing.

Guzman, 61, claimed earlier this month he’d been forced to shove toilet paper in his ears to mask the din of prison, and had nothing but an indoor exercise bike to maintain his physique.

Yet prosecutors say the convicted kingpin never bothered to ask the Bureau of Prisons for such luxuries, which would have been denied anyway due to his extreme security measures...."

https://nypost.com/2019/05/24/el-chapo-is-lying-about-prison-life-to-plot-an-escape-prosecutors/

 

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Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 5h5 hours ago
ICYMI @vicenews: A federal judge said the U.S. has lost the war on drugs while sentencing a star witness against El Chapo yesterday

A CARTEL KINGPIN’S SON JUST CLAIMED HIS PRIZE FOR TESTIFYING AGAINST EL CHAPO

May 30, 2019

"CHICAGO — From the time he was a boy, Vicente Zambada was groomed to be the future leader of the Sinaloa cartel. The eldest son of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, Mexico’s most powerful drug trafficking organization was his by birthright. He followed in his father’s footsteps for years, becoming his top lieutenant and emissary. But it was ultimately his ill-fated attempt to quit the cartel that landed him in a U.S. federal courthouse Thursday....

Citing his “extraordinary and unprecedented” cooperation, prosecutors in Chicago recommended a 17-year sentence for Zambada rather than the maximum of life in prison. Amanda Liskamm, a prosecutor who worked the Chapo case and questioned Zambada when he was on the witness stand, praised his “positive attitude” and said he'd “provided the jury with a unique perspective into the inner workings of the cartel.” She said a reduced sentence for Zambada was needed in order to “incentivize other criminals out there who engage in serious drug trafficking who are thinking about engaging with the government.”

Judge Castillo went even further, reducing Zambada’s sentence to 15 years. With credit for time he has already served in the U.S. and Mexico, Zambada could be allowed to walk free in five — or less, with good behavior....

In addition to his relatively short sentence, Zambada disclosed during his testimony against Chapo that U.S. authorities had already arranged to bring his wife and children across the border and provide security for them. He is expected to receive a rare S-visa, which puts foreign-born cooperators in major criminal investigations on the path to a green card and U.S. citizenship. The Treasury Department also agreed to lift sanctions on Zambada’s wife, who was allowed to bring $400,000 with her to the U.S. for living expenses. Under the terms of his plea, Zamabada agreed to forfeit his illicit drug proceeds — which prosecutors say are a whopping $1.37 billion, but it’s unclear when — if ever — he will be forced to pay up...."

A Cartel Kingpin’s Son Just Claimed His Prize for Testifying Against El Chapo

 

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El Chapo’s Mother, Sisters Get U.S. Visas to Visit Mexican Drug Lord

JUNE 1, 2019

"The mother of convicted drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman said Saturday that the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City granted her a visa so she can visit her son in prison.

Sitting in a wheelchair in front of the embassy, Consuelo Loera said that she and two daughters were both approved Saturday for visas to travel to the United States....

Loera said she hasn’t seen her son in more than four years. She added that she has yet to receive the actual visa or set a date for her trip...."

El Chapo’s Mother, Sisters Get U.S. Visas to Visit Mexican Drug Lord

 

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Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton Jun 1
We went to El Chapo’s hometown last year and spoke to his mom about her efforts to visit him in the US

EP 2: The Legend

 

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Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 5h5 hours ago
El Chapo's lawyers say solitary confinement is taking a toll on him:

"Mr. Guzmán’s physical and mental conditions have suffered, and his health is deteriorating rapidly."

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6116364-El-Chapo-s-response-to-government-re-conditions.html …

Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 5h5 hours ago
Prosecutors say El Chapo's requests for outdoor exercise, bottled water, and earplugs could be part of an escape plot. HIs lawyers claim he "is being punished by MCC officials in a cruel manner, arbitrarily determined by the MCC."


Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 3h3 hours ago
NEW: Judge Cogan has denied El Chapo's requests for outdoor exercise, bottled water and ear plugs. He says tight restrictions are necessary given Chapo's history of escapes and violence. https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6121421-Judge-Cogan-ruling-on-El-Chapo-s-jail-conditions.html …

Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 3h3 hours ago
El Chapo finds himself in a catch-22.

Judge Cogan cites his good behavior as a reason to keep him on lockdown.

But if he were act out, surely that would also be used as a reason to justify keeping him on lockdown.

 

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Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 1h1 hour ago
The judge in the Chapo case has denied the kingpin's motion for outdoor exercise in the Manhattan federal jail noting that while he's been an "exemplary" prisoner so far, he's still a threat to escape.


Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 1h1 hour ago
The judge also denied Chapo's motion for earplugs to solve his problems with ear pain, calling it "illogical."

"If earphones exacerbated his ear condition during trial, I do not see how using earplugs will help the condition now."


Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 1h1 hour ago
Also denied: Chapo's plea to buy stuff from the general population commissary. As a point of reference, toothpaste at the MCC goes for $2.35 a tube. A comb is 85 cents. And nacho cheese chips are $1.45.

 

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Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer May 29
Another big name in the Sinaloa Cartel, Jose Antonio Torres Marrufo (AKA “Jaguar”) was extradited to TX yesterday. Mykhaylo Koretskyy “Russian Mike” will also soon be extradited to NY. Both men were named in the same indictment as Chapo, who was found guilty in February.

Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer May 29
CLARIFICATION: Both Sinaloa cartel associates are named on Chapo indictments, but not the same ones. (Chapo has had indictments filed in 7 jurisdictions: Arizona (dropped), Florida, New Hampshire, Chicago, San Diego, El Paso, and New York. He could still be tried in another.

Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer May 29
The indictment against Jaguar alleges that under Chapo’s and Ismael Zamabada’s leadership he conspired in the killings of a Texas resident, whose mutilated body was found in Juarez, as well as in the killings of several in a Juarez wedding party, including the American groom.

Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer May 29
The 28-page indictment details Jaguar’s killings of people with ties to the US. It also highlights the Sinaloa cartel’s operations within US borders, including the use of international bridges between Ciudad Juarez and El Paso, TX.

Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer May 29
According to the indictment, Jaguar “exclusively used” a jaguar logo to mark his cocaine. We heard about that marca many times during Chapo’s trial, and when the forgettable Edgar Ivan Galván testified, we also heard about Jaguar’s affinity for his weapons, or “juguitos.”

Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer May 29
On Jaguar’s orders, Galván sent AK47s, military-grade bullet-proof vests and this 50-caliber rifle from the U.S. back to Mexico. “He needed weapons to continue killing people,” Galvan said. “To continue eliminating people who worked for La Línea cartel.”

Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer May 29
What's next? Chapo’s trial could foreshadow upcoming ones, with familiar faces returning to court. Chapo’s attorney, @NYCDefenseLaw, will represent Russian Mike in NY, and Chapo cooperators will likely make a second curtain call there. Perhaps Galván will travel to TX for Jaguar.
-------------

High Ranking Sinaloa Cartel Member Extradited to the United States
Jose Antonio Torres Marrufo (aka “Jaguar”) charged in April 2012 RICO indictment alleging conspiracy to commit murder, kidnaping, money laundering and drug distribution

May 28, 2019

High Ranking Sinaloa Cartel Member Extradited to the United States

 

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Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer May 31
Mykhaylo Koretskyy, a high-ranking member of the Sinaloa cartel known as “Russian Mike,” will make his first appearance in federal court in Manhattan Monday. @NYCDefenseLaw (who also represents Chapo) will represent Mike, believed even now to be in the air flying in from Curaçao.


Emily Palmer‏Verified account @emilyepalmer May 31
According to the 2014 indictment, unsealed in 2018, Russian Mike brought "5 kilograms and more of mixtures and substances containing a detectable amount of cocaine" within 12 miles of US Borders. More significantly, he helped run Canadian-side operations for the Sinaloa cartel.

 

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'El Chapo' Guzmán: No outdoor exercise, judge rules

June 6, 2019

"A judge in New York has denied a request by convicted Mexican drug lord Joaquín Guzmán, known as "El Chapo", to be allowed to exercise outdoors two hours a week.

The judge argued the request could be a ruse by Guzmán to try and escape from his New York jail...

His lawyer argues that the conditions he is held under are "unnatural and inhumane"; he is only allowed to exercise one hour per week in another indoor cell.

In a letter, the lawyer said her client had not had access to fresh air or natural sunlight in the more than two years he had been detained.

Prosecutors said the only outdoor exercise area at the prison was located on the rooftop.

The area - which is covered by wire fencing - was the site of an escape attempt in 1981, when accomplices of one of the prisoners commandeered a sightseeing helicopter and tried to spring their friend by ramming it into the fence....

The judge also denied a request by "El Chapo" to be given ear plugs to lessen the noise of the air conditioning, arguing that they could make it hard for him to hear the guards' commands in the case of an emergency...."

'El Chapo' Guzmán: No outdoor exercise, judge rules

(María Consuelo Loera, 91, went to the US embassy in Mexico City to request a visa to visit her son in jail)

 

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Man extradited from Curaçao to U.S. pleads not guilty to working with El Chapo

June 7, 2019

"WILLEMSTAD, NEW YORK - “Russian Mike”, as he is called, has been extradited from Curacao to New York, where he has pleaded not guilty to smuggling drugs with the Sinaloa Cartel of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman....

The joint Canadian-Ukrainian citizen, 44, stands indicted by the Southern District of New York for working with El Chapo between October 2008 and January 2014 to import “five kilograms or more” of cocaine into the U.S.

That four-year-old indictment was unsealed when Koretskyy was arrested in Curacao in January 2018. He was sent to New York in recent days after exhausting all appeals against extradition.

Dutch court documents indicate Koretskyy is suspected of charging cartel leaders, with whom he allegedly had long-running relationships, hundreds of thousands of dollars to run trucks loaded with cocaine from the U.S. into Canada. His routes allegedly ran from L.A. to Buffalo and over the Canadian border."

Man extradited from Curaçao to U.S. pleads not guilty to working with El Chapo

 

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Cashing in on El Chapo? Escape room based on jailed kingpin's infamous 2015 prison break opens in Mexico City (with clip)

13 June 2019

"Escape room in Mexico City has been based on cell El Chapo broke out of in 2015

Company is cashing in on his notoriety, charging up to $18 at weekends

Guests are given a set of instructions and are not allowed to use their cellphones

They have to search for clues and have 60 minutes to escape from El Chapo's cell

El Chapo's daughter is making money by selling clothes based on his likeness..."

Escape room based on El Chapo's infamous 2015 prison break opens in Mexico City | Daily Mail Online

(For a weekday entrance fee of $15, which jumps to $18 on weekend, visitors of all ages take part in a 60-minute game where they take on role of infamous drug trafficker Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán )

 

[Niner]

is right!

 

[Niner]

Tuesday, June 25th:
*Sentencing Hearing (@ 9:30am ET) - NY – *Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera (El Chapo) (~61) arrested & charged with smuggled 155 tons of cocaine into U.S. Sinaloa drug cartel chief. Guzmán faces 10-count indictment charging him with drug trafficking, murder conspiracy & money laundering spanning nearly three decades. Plead not guilty to all charges. No bail.
Prosecutors say Guzmán ran Mexico's Sinaloa cartel from 1989 to 2014. In that time, they allege the cartel brought cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine & marijuana into the U.S. Prosecutors also charged Guzmán in connection with the assassinations of thousands of competitors. Plead not guilty to all charges. If convicted, he faces life in prison.
Trial expected to last several months. Also for trafficking, conspiracy & firearms indictments in California, Arizona (dropped), Texas, Illinois, Florida & New York.
2/12/19 Day 44 – Day 6 of Jury Deliberations: The jury found El Chapo guilty of all 10 counts of the indictment.
Count 1: Engaging in a Continuing Criminal Enterprise
Count 2: International Cocaine, Heroin, Methamphetamine & Marijuana Manufacture & Distribution Conspiracy
Count 3: Cocaine Importation Conspiracy
Count 4: Cocaine Distribution Conspiracy
Count 5: International Distribution of Cocaine
Count 6: International Distribution of Cocaine
Count 7: International Distribution of Cocaine
Count 8: International Distribution of Cocaine
Count 9: Use of Firearms
Count 10: Conspiracy to Launder Narcotics Proceeds"
On the top criminal enterprise charge, the jury said prosecutors proved 25 out of 27 violations. El Chapo now faces a mandatory sentence of life with no parole in a US federal prison. Sentencing is set for 6/25/19.
2/22/19 Update: El Chapo's lawyers want another trial. They filed a motion today asking for time to put together a motion for a new trial based on revelations an anonymous juror made to View News that jury intentionally looked up news about the case and lied to the judge. The defense typically has two weeks after a guilty verdict to request a new trial. The letter from Chapo’s lawyers seeks an additional 30 days to prepare. The letter says the defense “has sought the government’s consent” for the extension, but “the government has not responded as of the time of filing.”
3/1/19 Update: The jury might now face legal ramifications of their own as Guzman’s defense appears set to file a motion mandating amid allegations of juror misconduct. Chapo’s defense could also argue for a change of venue altogether, insisting that everything is tainted again. The Judge has granted the Defense until March 28 to file their motion. Depending on the outcome of the motion, either a “new trial” will be set or he will be sentenced as originally planned on June 25.
3/26/19 Update: El Chapo's attorneys are seeking a retrial of the convicted & filed Tuesday (3/26/19), defense attorneys cited a Vice News report just after Guzmán's conviction that said at least six jurors from the anonymous panel violated the court's instructions by actively following media coverage of the internationally-watched case. U.S. District Court Judge Brian Cogan set April 29 as the deadline for the government's response to the defense motion.
5/3/19 Update: El Chapo filed motion to ax attorney A. Eduardo Balarezo, who represented him during his nearly four-month drug trafficking trial. Judge Cogan grants request.
5/10/19 Update: El Chapo asks his judge to intervene over conditions at the Manhattan jail where he's been in solitary confinement since Jan. 2017. Letter to the court: "Mr. Guzmán has been over two years now without any access to fresh air or natural sunlight. 6/4/19: Judge Cogan has denied El Chapo's requests for outdoor exercise, bottled water and ear plugs. He says tight restrictions are necessary given Chapo's history of escapes and violence.

 

[Niner]

@YESorNO - nothing going on??!!

 

[YESorNO]

Molly Crane-Newman‏Verified account @molcranenewman Jun 17
#ElChapo’s sentencing, initially scheduled for June 25, has been pushed back a month.

New date: July 17

 

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Another Chapo lieutenant pleads guilty in federal court in Chicago
Guadalupe Fernandez Valencia admitted to drug and money laundering conspiracies, breaking down in tears early in the hearing.

Jun 26, 2019

"Another onetime lieutenant in the notorious Sinaloa drug cartel led by Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera pleaded guilty Wednesday in a federal courtroom in Chicago, agreeing to cooperate with prosecutors.

Guadalupe Fernandez Valencia, 58, pleaded guilty to drug and money laundering conspiracies, breaking down in tears early in the hearing after U.S. District Chief Judge Ruben Castillo began to question her about her background.

Fernandez Valencia said she had once worked in factories but started dealing drugs after she became pregnant. Speaking through an interpreter, she told the judge she had five children, and her husband was “no good to me.”

Now, Fernandez Valencia faces a potential life sentence, though federal prosecutors are expected to recommend a sentence of about 10 to 15 years if she cooperates with them. Castillo did not schedule a sentencing hearing Wednesday....

The next status hearing in Fernandez Valencia’s case has been set for a little more than two weeks after that, on Aug. 21."

Another Chapo lieutenant pleads guilty in federal court in Chicago

 

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Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer Jun 17
That feeling when you FOIA the NSA for information related to its involvement in capture ops on Chapo Guzman and are told “the existence or nonexistence” of the material is classified.

 

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Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer Jun 26
The Chapo case is the gift that keeps giving. Newly unsealed documents suggest that still-unrevealed audio/video recordings exist of members of Chapo's circle, including Alex Cifuentes, it seems. The recordings appear to have been made by Alex's personal assistant, Andrea Velez.


Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer Jun 26
Andrea became an FBI undercover cooperator in 2012. The new documents say that she also brokered a deal with a ghost writer to help Guzman write some chapters of his autobiography and a film script about his life.


Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer Jun 26
Surveillance experts, what does this phrase mean?

"Efforts to locate and capture [Guzman] included THE LAWFUL WARRANTLESS TRACKING OF GEOLOCATION DATA data associated with cellular telephones used by the defendant’s coconspirators."


Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer Jun 26
Those "lawful warrantless" techniques were apparently used in both 2012 and 2014 to track Guzman down during capture operations. Does that mean NSA/IC stuff? Sure, sounds like it.


Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 24h24 hours ago
Another detail from the newly released documents: During Guzman's war w/the Beltran-Leyva brothers he captured & tortured one of their top men, Israel Rincon. A video exists of the interrogation. What's new is this: Guzman hired a doctor to revive Rincon & torture him further.


Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 24h24 hours ago
After Rincon passed out, the doctor helped him regain consciousness. Then Guzman and his torture crew applied electrodes to his ear and shocked him and pulled some of his teeth out.


Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 23h23 hours ago
Coming full circle back to Guzman's book/movie project: the Colombian producer Alex Cifuentes hired for the job, Javier Rey, make the grave mistake of asking for 35% of the project's profits.
Guzman felt Rey was "a thief," the new docs say, and feared he might also be a snitch.


Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 23h23 hours ago
So he hatched a plot to murder Rey, tasking Alex with the dirty work. In a rare burst of scruples, Alex ultimately warned Rey about the contract on his head.
And as the documents dryly put it, "The Colombian producer...survived."


Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 23h23 hours ago
Lastly from the new documents: In case you thought that Amazon and Chapo Guzman could not be uttered in the same sentence, well, you're wrong.
Follow this...


Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 23h23 hours ago
Remember when the FBI turned Guzman's IT guy who installed spyware on BlackBerries belonging to his wife, his mistresses, his security team and some of his lawyers? See below:

Drug Kingpin Used Spyware to Monitor His Wife and Mistress, Jurors Told

Jan 9, 2019

Drug Kingpin Used Spyware to Monitor His Wife and Mistress, Jurors Told


Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 23h23 hours ago
Well, the spyware data was housed in an Amazon cloud server & when the FBI asked Amazon for help, the firm wasn't exactly helpful.
"Amazon informed...FBI that it would be potentially impossible for Amazon to locate the requested data due to how the servers stored the data."


Alan Feuer‏ @alanfeuer 23h23 hours ago
It took judges and search warrant etc until the company finally came around and let the FBI have access to the spyware data housed on its Cloud servers...

 

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El Chapo had doctor revive rival so he could keep torturing him, court docs claim

June 26, 2019

"Convicted Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman once called a doctor to revive a man who’d been tortured into unconsciousness — just so he could torture him some more, according to newly released court papers.

The freshly unsealed documents claim Guzman ordered his flunkies to brutalize rival cartel member Israel Rincon, after Rincon allegedly tried to whack one of the kingpin’s sons.

Methods of torture “included shocking his ear and pulling out his teeth,” prosecutors write.

The grisly tale comes from an unnamed cooperator who told prosecutors he witnessed the brutality sometime in 2010 in a “large garden house,” and that Rincon was “tied up to a chair” while he was interrogated at Guzman’s behest....

Guzman was convicted earlier this year on a multitude of drug trafficking charges, and faces life behind bars when sentenced on July 17.

His lawyers have since filed a motion seeking new trial, citing alleged juror misconduct."

https://nypost.com/2019/06/26/el-ch...he-could-keep-torturing-him-court-docs-claim/

 

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Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 20h20 hours ago
BREAKING: Judge Cogan has denied El Chapo's request for a new trial
Story coming soon @vicenews…

Keegan Hamilton‏Verified account @keegan_hamilton 20h20 hours ago
Here's the full text of Judge Cogan's ruling, which explains in detail why he believes my @vicenews interview with an anonymous El Chapo juror doesn't warrant further investigation by the court…

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6182239-Judge-Cogan-s-Decision-on-Guzman-s-Motion-for-a.html …