The Mexican drug cartel boss best known as El Chapo might eventually get tried in Brooklyn federal court, the New York Times reports.
After famously escaping from a maximum-security Mexican prison last July, Joaquín Guzmán Loera got recaptured in January. This was his second breakout from a Mexican prison, and though he’s currently being stashed in the same facility—albeit with a few extra security measures like motion sensors—Mexican officials are reportedly more open to his being extradited than they were last go-round. The process is already underway, although it’s expected to take months or even years.
Videos by VICE
Meanwhile, US authorities argue the majority of the drugs distributed by El Chapo’s Sinaloa Cartel drugs end up in the United States. And while there are open indictments against the boss in a handful of American cities, including Miami and Chicago, since US Attorney General Loretta Lynch used to be the lead prosecutor in Brooklyn, the New York borough is shaping up as the most likely locale for his trial, according to the Times. (An earlier report from local broadcast network WPIX-TV suggested Brooklyn was the “likely” location should Loera get extradited.)
One interesting snag, as the Times points out, is that Mexico almost certainly won’t agree to send El Chapo across the border unless the US promises not to seek the death penalty. His cartel is said to be responsible for everything from kidnapping to murder, but capital punishment is frowned upon in much of the world, even for those heinous crimes.
