Notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman is likely to die in jail after being sentenced to life for smuggling illegal drugs into the US over a violent, decades-long career.
Jurors found the 62-year-old guilty of drug trafficking, money laundering and the use of firearms in February after an 11-week trial.
Speaking to the court before his sentencing, he said his confinement in the US had been “psychological, emotional, mental torture 24 hours a day”.
He also claimed he had been denied a fair trial and that his case was “stained” by juror misconduct.
Judge Brian Cogan sentenced him to life plus 30 years, which was mandatory under the law, at a hearing
in in Brooklyn, New York.
During the trial, prosecutors gave evidence that provided an extraordinary glimpse into the brutal and lucrative world of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel and how El Chapo became its mastermind, trafficking thousands of kilos of cocaine, heroin, marijuana and methamphetamine.
“The overwhelming evidence at trial showed that the defendant was a ruthless and bloodthirsty leader,” prosecutors said.
