Document: Colombian drug traffickers expected to testify against ‘El Chapo’ Guzman

The Mexican Government authorized the U.S. Government to take custody of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera with the condition US prosecutors not seek the death penalty, which was abolished in Mexico.

The Mexican drug lord was hauled into an American courtroom Friday and then taken away to an ultra-secure jail that has held some of the world’s most dangerous terrorists and mobsters.

Holding his unshackled hands behind his back, a dazed-looking Guzman quietly entered a not-guilty plea. Guzman, who is in his 50s, was ordered held without bail in a special Manhattan jail unit where other high-risk inmates – including Mafia boss John Gotti and several close associates of Osama bin Laden – spent their time awaiting trial, the Associated Press reports.

ABC-7 obtained the “Memorandum of Law in Support of Pretrail Detention” filed in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of New York, where Guzman will be prosecuted.

“Guzman is the most notorious drug trafficker in the world,” the document begins, before going on to detail the history of the modern drug trade in the US.

In the 1980s, the drug trade in New York and Miami was controlled by Colombian Cartels, including Pablo Escobar’s Medellin Cartel, which “relied on Mexican drug traffickers, who were long time smugglers of marijuana and heroin into the US, to transport their cocaine shipments north from Mexico into the US.”

The court document states “Guzman quickly set himself apart from other Mexican transporters with his efficiency in transporting the drugs into the US and returning the drug proceeds to the Colombians in record time. The effectiveness earned him the nickname ‘El Rapido’ (the fast one).”

Guzman’s reputation quickly grew and he was able to negotiate directly with members of the Colombian cartels for higher fees, the document states. “By the late 1980s, as Guzman’s wealth grew, so did his power within Mexico.”

Guzman’s “growing prowess” deepened his relationship with other prominent Mexican traffickers. Among them: Ignacio Coronel Villareal, Vicente Carillo Fuentes, the Beltran Leyva Brothers, and Ismael “mayo” Zambada Garcia. “An alliance between Guzman and Zambada led to a bloody battle with members of Arellano Felix drug trafficking organization for control of the Tijuana-area. This conflict infamously led to the 1993 killing of Cardinal Juan Jesus Posadas Ocampo during a barrage of gunfire in Guadalajara.”

The killing led the Mexican Government to embark on a massive manhunt for Guzman, who eluded capture until his arrest in 1993. “While in prison, Guzman was able to run his criminal organization with the help of his brother, the document states. “In 2001, Guzman famously escaped from prison, purportedly in a laundry cart with the assistance of prison officials who he corrupted,” the document states.

In the 2000s, with the enforcement of extradition laws in Colombia, “the Colombians started to abandon their distribution business in the US in favor of creating partnerships with Mexican traffickers, who were permitted to invest in the cocaine shipments. Accordingly, the Mexican traffickers took on a more integral role in moving cocaine from Colombia to the US.”

Mexican drug traffickers filled the vacuums in US cities left by the Colombians and their distribution networks “supported massive money laundering efforts that delivered billions in illegal profits generated from the cocaine sales in the US.”

A newfound wealth allegedly allowed Guzman to increase the Sinaloa Cartel’s power in Mexico while expanding his operations to Central American countries like Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama. “Eventually, the Colombians and Mexicans invested in the building of semi-submersible submarines which were capable of transporting up to six tons of cocaine for water-based trafficking,” the document states. “Guzman soon embedded Sinaloa Cartel members in South American countries like Ecuador and Venezuela.”

In the 2000s, Guzman and the Sinaloa Cartel “led the introduction of methamphetamine into the flow of drugs heading north to the US. Guzman established sources of supply for the precursor chemicals for production of meth in Africa and Asian countries like India and China.”

Guzman was allegedly able to ensure the success of his criminal organization by “the corruption of officials at every level of local, municipal, state, national and foreign government who were paid cash bribes to ensure that he and the Sinaloa Cartel were free to bring in tonnage of quantities of cocaine from South America into the US.”

The documents state the payments ensured the cocaine arrived safely in Mexico, where it was then “escorted safely by law enforcement to the US-Mexico border.”

When money was not enough, Guzman’s “method of control was brutal force and intimidation.” The document states Guzman “wielded violence to punish disloyalty and enforce discipline … He deployed hit men and assassins who carried thousands of murders, assaults, and kidnappings in an effort to silence witnesses and law enforcement authorities.”

In the early 2000s, Guzman attacked the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas. By the mid-2000s, his Sinaloa Cartel was at war with Vicente Carillo Fuentes, the leader of the Juarez Cartel. “Guzman’s exploits made him a cult-like celebrity to those from his home state of Sinaloa. He was viewed as a modern-day Robin Hood, popular with the down-trodden and (celebrated) in popular songs.”

When prosecuting Guzman, “the government will rely on the testimony of a large coterie of cooperating witnesses, including dozens who have engaged in face-to-face negotiations with Guzman,” the court document states. “Numerous Colombian Cartel leaders are expected to testify concerning their multi-ton cocaine shipments to Guzman.”

The witnesses reportedly have information on Guzman’s chain of distribution from South America to the United States. Others are expected to testify about cocaine-laden airplanes landing on clandestine airstrips, the use of tanker fuel trucks to transport cocaine, and schemes to smuggle cocaine into the US from Mexico.

“United States-based Distributors are expected to testify about the Sinaloa Cartel’s distribution hubs across the US. “Many witnesses are expected to testify concerning Guzman’s payment of bribes to politicians and members of law enforcement.”

The document states “one witness is expected to testify to the activities of one of Guzman’s assassins during the war with Vicente Carillo Fuentes in Juarez, including his use of a house specially outfitted for murdering victims. The house had plastic sheets over the walls to catch spouting blood and a drain in the floor to facilitate the draining of blood.”

“The Government will also produce evidence of a seizure in El Paso, Texas of a gun shipment tied to Guzman, which contained numerous AK-47s and .50mm long rifles,” the document further states. “Guzman’s guilt will be proven through consensually recorded conversations during which Guzman discusses specific drug transactions,” the document further states.