NEW YORK, United States (Reuters) — Drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman appeared in a U.S. court on Friday (January 20) after his surprise extradition from Mexico and pleaded not guilty to charges that he ran the world’s largest drug-trafficking organization during a decades-long criminal career.
El Chapo (Spanish for “Shorty”), who twice made dramatic escapes from Mexican prisons and was one of the world’s most wanted drug lords, was accompanied by two court-appointed lawyers during the appearance in federal court in Brooklyn.
The extradition came on the eve of Donald Trump’s inauguration, a coincidence some officials said was an olive branch to the incoming U.S. president who declared he would kick Guzman’s “ass” on taking office.
The Mexican attorney general’s office rejected claims the move was related to Trump’s swearing-in, noting that Guzman faces 10 pending cases in Mexico following his U.S. sentence.
Guzman, 59, known to carry a gold-plated AK-47 rifle, wore a blue jump suit to court with close-cropped hair and without his usual mustache. He did not appear to be wearing handcuffs and had no visible expression on his face as he listened to questions from a judge.
After U.S. Magistrate Judge James Orenstein asked Guzman if he understood what he had been accused of, Guzman responded through a Spanish interpreter, “Well, I didn’t know until now.” Later, when asked again, he said he understood.
An additional hearing was scheduled for Feb. 3.
Guzman’s court-appointed lawyers promised a zealous defense to ensure he receives a fair trial, and they said they would examine whether Guzman was extradited appropriately.
The indictment in Brooklyn against Guzman, with 17 criminal counts, carries a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison, Robert Capers, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said at a news conference earlier in the day.
U.S. prosecutors have more than 40 witnesses ready to testify against Guzman, Capers told reporters, adding that the eventual trial will likely last “many” weeks.
Leading the Sinaloa cartel, Guzman oversaw perhaps the world’s largest transnational cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine smuggling operation, playing a key role in Mexico’s decade-long drug war that has killed over 100,000 people.
He was captured a year ago after he had fled a high-security penitentiary in central Mexico through a mile-long tunnel, his second dramatic prison escape.
After court on Friday, he was being sent to a federal jail in New York City that holds prisoners who have pending cases. U.S. authorities, citing security concerns, declined to say where he would be held for the months before trial, but they vowed to prevent any further escapes.
Guzman arrived in a small jet at Long Island’s MacArthur Airport after nightfall on Thursday from a prison in Juarez in the northern state of Chihuahua, where his cartel rules.
A few hours earlier, Guzman, who stands 5 feet six inches, was bundled out of the Mexican cell block with his hands cuffed above his bowed head, Mexican television footage showed.
U.S. prosecutors gave assurances to Mexican officials that they would not seek the death penalty in order to secure his extradition, Capers said. Mexico opposes capital punishment.