NEW YORK — There was no escaping prison this time for El Chapo.
Cocaine kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was sentenced to die inside an American penitentiary during a bizarre Wednesday hearing where the murderous drug lord painted himself as the victim.
The cartel boss, in a rambling 15-minute Brooklyn Federal Courthouse speech before his mandated life sentence was imposed, claimed that he was railroaded at the 11-week trial that ended with his multiple convictions.
“Since the government will send me to a jail where my name will not ever be heard again, I take this opportunity to say there was no justice,” said Guzman, speaking through a translator. “You denied me a fair trial while the whole world was watching … What happened here is very clear, that the United States is no better than any corrupt country that you don’t respect.”
Prosecutors, in fact, called 50 witnesses in their detailed and damning case against Guzman. In contrast, the defense rested after presenting just a single witness to the jury.
The full sentence was life plus 30 years, ensuring the once high-flying Guzman — who twice escaped from Mexican prisons — will spend the rest of his days behind bars. But in his final public stand, El Chapo declared the case against him was rigged from the start.
“Why did we go to trial?” he asked rhetorically. “Why didn’t you sentence me on day one?”
Sentencing judge Brian Cogan provided the answer in handing down the maximum sentence, citing the “mountain” of evidence presented against Guzman.
El Chapo, who arrived at the courthouse under heavy security just before midnight Tuesday, thanked his wife and other friends for their support since his arrest, extradition and prosecution by U.S. authorities. Spouse Emma Coronel, 30, sat in the courtroom wearing a black-and-white outfit.
“Their prayers have given me the strength to brave this torture of the last 36 months,” he said. “It has been psychological, emotional and mental torture 24 hours a day.”
Coronel marched into the building early Wednesday with her eyes hidden behind a pair of sunglasses. The wife, who appeared frequently during her spouse’s trial, ran a gamut of media outside the courthouse just to get through the front doors and find her seat in the jam-packed courtroom.
Media members were lining up nine hours before the hearing in hopes of landing a coveted seat inside.
Guzman opted not to testify on his own behalf at trial, speaking only to inform the judge of his decision. Prosecutors laid out a case during the trial showing that Guzman smuggled tons of cocaine and other drugs across the Mexican border and into the United States, using an army of violent underlings to torture, kidnap and murder any human obstacles to his lucrative and lethal business.
Andrea Valez, an employee of El Chapo’s former assistant Alex Cifuentes, delivered a victim impact statement where she recounted how Guzman wanted her dead.
“I’m a miracle of God, because Mr. Guzman wanted to kill me,” she told the court. “If I left the organization, I could only do it in a (body) bag.”
Prosecutors asked Cogan to impose a term of life plus 30 years in prison without the possibility of parole. Guzman was expected to do his time in the federal “Supermax” prison in Florence, Colo., known as the “Alcatraz of the Rockies.”
The 62-year-old Guzman, who became an almost mythical figure during his long and lucrative reign atop the Sinaloa cartel, has spent most of his days in solitary confinement since his extradition to the U.S. in 2017.
Since the El Chapo guilty verdict on Feb. 12, the defendant’s sons Joaquin “El Guero” Guzman Lopez, 34, and Ovidio “El Raton” Guzman Lopez were indicted on drug trafficking and other related charges in Washington.
Star witness Vicente Zambada, the son of Chapo’s partner in crime, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, was sentenced to 15 years in prison, more than nine years after his extradition to the U.S.
