Court upholds life in prison for "El Chapo"

Infamous Mexican cartel leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s conviction on charges of running a multibillion-dollar narcotics trafficking operation was upheld by a federal appeals court in New York. 

In an opinion filed on Tuesday, a three-judge panel for the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a host of arguments Guzman’s lawyers made in an effort to overturn his conviction. 

The arguments touched upon the conditions he experienced in prison, the fact that jurors allegedly followed the case in the media throughout his trial and that the U.S. government wanted to set an example with his prosecution.

"I am confident that Mr. Guzman will seek a Supreme Court review," Guzman’s lawyer, Marc Fernich, told Reuters.

Guzman was sentenced to life in prison in July 2019 after being found guilty for drug-related crimes he committed as leader of the Sinaloa Cartel. He is currently serving his sentence in Colorado's Supermax prison and was ordered to repay $12.7 billion.

Last year, Fernich appealed his client’s case before a three-judge panel and claimed Guzman’s trial had been unfair because the confinement he was subjected to prevented him from working effectively with his lawyers while preparing his defense. Fernich also called for the court to open an investigation into misconduct by jurors, citing a Vice article in which an unidentified juror admitted that they and at least 5 other jurors had followed the case in the media.

However, federal prosecutor Hiral Mehta countered that courts should not overturn convictions based on the claims of anonymous jurors to online sites.

"The evidence here is not competent, it simply isn't," Mehta concluded.

In June, Guzman's wife, Emma Coronel Aispuro, pleaded guilty to participating in the Sinaloa cartel's drug trafficking operations. In November, she was sentenced to three years in prison.