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Witness claims El Chapo had sex with minors he called ‘vitamins’ Witness claims El Chapo had sex with minors he called ‘vitamins’
(about 3 hours later)
Newly unsealed documents about the Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán contain claims by witnesses that he had sex with minors he called “vitamins”, a disturbing allegation coming just as a jury is about to start deliberating in his US drug-trafficking case. Unsealed documents about the Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán contain claims by witnesses that he had sex with minors he called “vitamins”. The disturbing allegation comes just as a jury is about to start deliberating in the US drug-trafficking case.
Betrayal, torture and a $100m bribe: what the El Chapo trial has revealedBetrayal, torture and a $100m bribe: what the El Chapo trial has revealed
According to papers made public late on Friday, a key government cooperator told authorities Guzmán had him drug girls as young as 13 before Guzmán had sex with them at one of his Mexican hideouts in the late 2000s.According to papers made public late on Friday, a key government cooperator told authorities Guzmán had him drug girls as young as 13 before Guzmán had sex with them at one of his Mexican hideouts in the late 2000s.
On Saturday, one of Guzmán’s lawyers called the accusations “extremely salacious” and questioned the timing of the government filing. One of Guzmán’s lawyers called the accusations “extremely salacious” and questioned the timing of the government filing.
Guzmán “denies the allegations, which lack any corroboration and were deemed too prejudicial and unreliable to be admitted at trial,” attorney Eduardo Balarezo said in a statement. “It is unfortunate that the material was publicly released just prior to the jury beginning deliberations.” Guzmán “denies the allegations, which lack any corroboration and were deemed too prejudicial and unreliable to be admitted at trial,” attorney Eduardo Balarezo said in a statement on Saturday. “It is unfortunate that the material was publicly released just prior to the jury beginning deliberations.”
The jury is set to begin deliberations on Monday after a nearly three-month trial on charges that as the head of the Sinaloa cartel, Guzmán oversaw a drug-smuggling empire that flooded the US market with at least 200 tons of cocaine and made $14bn. The defense says cooperating witnesses have made Guzman a scapegoat for their own crimes. Among responses Guzmán’s defense team could now consider are questioning the jury before they are handed the case or moving for a mistrial, on grounds that the jury has been tainted by information not admitted into evidence while the government was making its case.
The unsealing of the documents came at the request of the New York Times and Vice News. US district judge Brian Cogan had ordered prosecutors to review the material – originally sealed because it was deemed unrelated to the drug charges – and make portions of it public within four days after the government rested its case against Guzman. Speaking to the Guardian on Sunday, Balarezo said the defense was “very disturbed”.
One document says Colombian drug trafficker Alex Cifuentes, while living with Guzmán around 2007, told investigators someone known as Comadre Maria would offer photos of young girls to Guzman. For $5,000, one of Guzmán’s choice would be sent to a secluded Sinaloa ranch, Cifuentes said, according to the papers. Asked if it believed the new accusations were designed to affect the jury, Balarezo said the defense would “address the merits of it in court” on Monday, when jurors are due to begin deliberations.
Guzmán directed Cifuentes to put a “powdery substance” into the girls’ drinks before sex, said Cifuentes. Guzmán “called the youngest of the girls his ‘vitamins’ because he believed that sexual activity with young girls gave him ‘life,”’ he added. After a prosecution that spanned 11 weeks and saw 56 witnesses describe how Guzmán ran his cocaine empire with an iron fist, the defense rested after calling just one witness.
Cifuentes also admitted having sex with minors but without drugging them. The document says other cooperating witnesses have backed up the claims about Guzmán’s interactions with underage girls. It lasted 30 minutes. Expectations that the defendant might take the stand were not realised.
The cooperator told the government that he saw Guzmán “consulting with a witch doctor from whom he obtained snake oils”, the papers said. As head of the Sinaloa cartel, Guzmán is charged with overseeing a drug-smuggling empire that flooded the US with at least 200 tons of cocaine and made $14bn. The defense says cooperating witnesses have made Guzman a scapegoat for their own crimes.
The documents also describe an interview with Guzmán conducted by a Drug Enforcement Administration agent in 1998 at a Mexican prison where Guzmán escaped two years later. They say he allegedly asked if he could avoid extradition to the US if he provided information to the DEA about the drug-running operations of rival cartels. The unsealing of the documents came at the request of the New York Times and Vice News. US district judge Brian Cogan had ordered prosecutors to review the material – sealed because it was deemed unrelated to the drugs charges – and make portions of it public within four days of the government resting its case.
One document says Colombian drug trafficker Alex Cifuentes, while living with Guzmán around 2007, told investigators someone known as Comadre Maria would offer photos of young girls to Guzman. For $5,000, a girl of Guzmán’s choice would be sent to a secluded Sinaloa ranch, Cifuentes said, according to the papers.
Guzmán directed Cifuentes to put a “powdery substance” into the girls’ drinks before sex, said Cifuentes. Guzmán “called the youngest of the girls his ‘vitamins’ because he believed that sexual activity with young girls gave him ‘life’,” he added.
Cifuentes admitted having sex with minors without drugging them. The document says other cooperating witnesses have backed up the claims about Guzmán’s interactions with underage girls.
The cooperator told the government he saw Guzmán “consulting with a witch doctor from whom he obtained snake oils”, the papers said.
The documents also describe an interview with Guzmán conducted by a Drug Enforcement Administration agent in 1998 at a Mexican prison which Guzmán escaped two years later. They say he allegedly asked if he could avoid extradition to the US if he provided information about rival cartels.
Joaquín 'El Chapo' GuzmánJoaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán
Drugs tradeDrugs trade
MexicoMexico
AmericasAmericas
New YorkNew York
US crime
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