Trial of Mexico’s El Chapo begins two years after extradition

The long-awaited trial of one of the world’s most wanted criminal Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman is set to begin in New York amid tight security, two years after his extradition.

Reports say the trial of the Mexican drug lord whose real names are Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman will begin with lawyers’ opening statements in a federal court in Brooklyn on Tuesday.

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However, Guzman’s lawyers have signaled that they intend to downplay their client’s role in the cartel and argue that the prosecutors’ witnesses are motivated by self-interest and not believable.

“Now that trial is upon us, it is time to put up or shut up,” said Eduardo Balarezo, one of Guzman’s attorneys.

El Chapo is standing trial for smuggling drugs to the US and his role in narco-violence between rival gangs that has torn areas of Mexico apart and defied successive governments.

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