Joaquin Archivaldo Guzman Loera, Life in Prison Plus 30 Years, Florida 2020

Joaquin Guzman Sentenced to Life in Prison Plus 30 Years

Brooklyn, New York - Joaquin Archivaldo Guzman Loera, also known as 'El Chapo,' was sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years for his role as the principal leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, a Mexico-based international drug trafficking organization.

Guzman Loera was convicted by a federal jury on February 12, 2019, following a three-month trial, of all 10 counts of the superseding indictment, including narcotics trafficking, using a firearm in furtherance of his drug crimes, and participating in a money laundering conspiracy.

The evidence at trial established that Guzman Loera was a principal leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, responsible for importing and distributing over a million kilograms of cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamine, and heroin in the United States. The evidence included testimony from 14 cooperating witnesses, narcotics seizures totaling over 130,000 kilograms of cocaine and heroin, and other items that detailed the drug trafficking activity of Guzman Loera and his co-conspirators over a 25-year period from January 1989 until December 2014.

From the mid-1980s until his arrest in Mexico in 1993, Guzman Loera was a mid-level operative of the Sinaloa Cartel, earning a name for himself and the nickname 'El Rapido' for how quickly he transported drugs from Mexico to the United States for the Colombian cartels. After he escaped from a Mexican prison in 2001 by hiding in a laundry cart, Guzman Loera formed an alliance with fugitive co-defendant Ismael Zambada Garcia and, together, they became the preeminent leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel.

The trial highlighted the methods Guzman Loera and his organization used to transport the cartel's multi-ton shipments of narcotics into the United States, including fishing boats, submarines, carbon fiber airplanes, trains with secret compartments, and transnational underground tunnels. Once the narcotics were in the United States, they were sold to wholesale distributors in New York, Miami, Atlanta, Chicago, Arizona, Los Angeles, and elsewhere. Guzman Loera then used various methods to launder billions of dollars of drug proceeds, including bulk cash smuggling from the United States to Mexico, U.S.-based insurance companies, reloadable debit cards, and numerous shell companies, including a juice company and a fish flour company.

The court also ordered Guzman Loera to pay $12.6 billion in forfeiture. Guzman Loera's sentencing was announced by Attorney General William P. Barr, Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski, U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney Richard P. Donoghue, Acting Administrator Uttam Dhillon, Director Christopher A. Wray, Acting Secretary Kevin McAleenan, Executive Associate Director Derek Benner, Acting U.S. Marshal Bryan T. Mullee, New York City Police Department Commissioner James P. O'Neill, and New York State Police Superintendent Keith M. Corlett.

Guzman Loera's organization relied upon violence to maintain its power, and he enforced his will and maintained control of his drug empire through an army of lethal bodyguards and a sophisticated communications network.

The evidence at trial established that Guzman Loera was responsible for the murder conspiracy charge, which included 26 drug-related violations. Guzman Loera was sentenced to a life term of imprisonment plus 30 years to run consecutive to the life sentence for being a principal leader of the Sinaloa Cartel.

Mandatory Facts: Defendant: Joaquin Archivaldo Guzman Loera; Exact Criminal Charges: Principal leader of a continuing criminal enterprise, including 26 drug-related violations and one murder conspiracy; City and State: Brooklyn, New York; Exact Date: February 12, 2019; Sentence: Life in prison plus 30 years; Dollar Amount: $12.6 billion in forfeiture.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/joaquin-el-chapo-guzman-sinaloa-cartel-leader-sentenced-life-prison-plus-30-years