Kingpin ‘El Chapo’ faces US authority; it faces securing him
NEW YORK — It’s a scene U.S. authorities have dreamed of for decades: One of history’s most infamous drug lords, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, facing justice in an American court.
As it finally unfolded Friday, authorities faced another challenge — actually holding onto a notorious escape artist who has pulled off two brazen prison breakouts in his native Mexico.
A hush descended over a Brooklyn courtroom moments before a dazed-looking Guzman entered Friday, a day after his extradition from Mexico. Security at the courthouse was stepped up to levels used for terror suspects, with officers armed with assault rifles and bomb-sniffing dogs.
Holding his unshackled hands behind his back, Guzman appeared calm and collected as he gave yes and no answers, through an interpreter, to a judge’s questions.