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“El Chapo” Guzman arrived in the US on Thursday, Jan. 19

Mexico Secretaría de Gobernación

US law enforcement officials who have long sought the extradition of the world’s most notorious drug trafficker, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, said that Thursday’s extradition from Mexico did not come as a surprise, however, they were not notified beforehand that the leader of the Sinaloa cartel would be arriving on American soil.

“We did not know it was going to happen yesterday,” Deputy Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said at a press conference Friday announcing charges against “El Chapo” Guzman.

Guzman arrived in New York on Thursday, transported on a Mexican police plane, then brought to undisclosed location within the New York City jail system where he was being held. On Friday afternoon, Guzman will be arraigned on a 17-count indictment in the Eastern District of New York federal court in Brooklyn.

According to the indictment, Guzman faces one count of leading a continuing criminal enterprise as leader of the Sinaloa cartel in Mexico, among other charges. If convicted, he faces a life sentence. As a condition of his extradition, US Attorney in the Eastern District of New York Robert Capers said, US law enforcement agreed to take the death penalty off the table as a potential sentence.

In addition to the criminal charges that Guzman faces, which also include running a drug conspiracy to import and distribute tons of heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana, the US government is seeking $14 billion in forfeiture from Guzman.

The charges against Guzman cite drug trafficking activity dating back to the 1980s when Guzman first rose to prominence as the preferred Mexican drug trafficker to the US by the ruling factions of the drug trade in Colombia that included Medellin cartel leader Pablo Escobar. On Friday, Capers described Guzman as “a small cancerous tumor that metastasized and grew into a full blown scourge.”

In addition to the indictment in Brooklyn federal court, Guzman faces indictments in federal court districts around the country, including in Illinois and California.

Capers said that the indictment is a joined case with the Southern District of Florida. He said he believes that the case in Brooklyn “packed the most forceful punch,” noting that he expects if the case goes to trial prosecutors could call as many as 40 witnesses to give an “intricate look into the organization” of the Sinaloa cartel and “the devastation it had wrought.” Pressed by reporters to provide more detail on why Guzman will face justice in Brooklyn, Capers simply added, “Because it’s Brooklyn.”

The US Attorney said that the other indictments are not being rolled into the New York case at this time and remain open.

Over the years, Guzman has become as notorious for escaping incarceration as for his criminal activity. On two occasions, Guzman escaped Mexican prisons with the help of corrupt law enforcement, once through an elaborate underground tunnel dug under the prison.

Asked about their confidence that US law enforcement would be more effective in holding Guzman, Angel Melendez, special agent in charge of ICE Homeland Security Investigations in New York City, said Friday, “I assure you no tunnel will be built.”

LINK: Mexican Drug Lord “El Chapo” Extradited To The United States

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