Former Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman has received a sentence that will see him spend the rest of his life in prison.
Judge Brian Cogan sentenced Guzman Wednesday to life in prison plus 30 years in a federal court in New York.
The 62-year-old was convicted in February of trafficking tons of cocaine, heroin and marijuana as a top leader of Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel.
As head of one of Mexico’s largest and most violent drug-dealing groups, prosecutors said Guzman was involved in multiple murder conspiracies.
Guzman was finally captured in 2016 after two daring escapes from Mexican maximum-security prisons. He was extradited to the U.S. in January 2017 to face trial.
Guzman gained notoriety in the 1980’s after digging tunnels beneath the U.S.-Mexico border that allowed him to transport larger amounts of drugs more quickly that his competitors.
He consolidated power in the 1990s and 2000s through deadly wars with rivals.
Before his sentencing, Guzman complained about his solitary confinement in New York’s Metropolitan Correctional Center and that he did not get a fair trial.
“My case was stained and you denied me a fair trial when the while world was watching,” he said. “When I was extradited to the United States, I expected to have a fair trial, but what happened was exactly the opposite.”
Guzman’s lawyers argued he was framed by rivals who became government witnesses in exchange for leniency.
