Mexican Drug Boss 'El Chapo' Appeals US Drug Conspiracy Conviction

 "stevectpa" for Borderland Beat; ABC News and SCMP

Authorities escort Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman from a plane in Ronkonkoma, NY
on January 19, 2017. Photo: US law enforcement via AP

NEW YORK -- The notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman wants his U.S. conspiracy conviction thrown out.

An appeal filed Friday argues that a judge made rulings allowing a jury to hear faulty evidence at his trial. It also cites reports that before reaching a guilty verdict, some jurors sought out news accounts about sex abuse allegations against him that were barred from the trial. Prosecutors declined to comment Saturday.

Guzman was sentenced last year to life behind bars in for a massive drug conspiracy that spread murder and mayhem for more than two decades.

Before the federal case, he had attained near-mythical status by escaping from prison twice in Mexico, the second time through a tunnel dug into the shower of his cell. He was recaptured and sent in 2017 to the United States and put in solitary confinement.

At trial, Guzman’s lawyers argued he was the fall guy for other kingpins who were better at paying off top Mexican politicians and law enforcement officials to protect them.

“Chapo Guzman’s prosecution was marred by rampant excess and overreach, both governmental and judicial – needless resorts if he was really the kingpin extraordinaire his adversaries insisted,” the appeal says.

His defense lawyer, Marc Fernich, argues, among other things, that the extraordinary security measures that surrounded Guzman prevented a fair trial.

For instance, Fernich cites the two-and-a-half years in solitary confinement before the guilty verdict in early 2019 as making it difficult for him to work with his defense team.

In addition, the lawyer for the 63-year-old Mexican accuses the US judiciary of having ignored media reports that said several members of the jury were reading news and social media posts about the trial as it was under way, something the judge forbade to prevent undue influence.