Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

El Chapo's Legal Team Assures Jurors Will not Be Killed

El Chapo's Legal Team Assures Jurors Will not Be Killed
(RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP/Getty Images)

Mexican drug lord Joaquin Guzman, a.k.a. "El Chapo," is the former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel that the U.S. Justice Department deemed as "one of the world's most prolific, violent and powerful drug cartels.

Due to his notoriety, New York federal prosecutors asked that the jurors be anonymous and sequestered from the public, but Guzman's lawyer insisted that such measures won't be necessary.


Guzman was known to run the cartel from prison by bribing security guards, and he even escaped numerous times. Still, his attorney assures jurors have nothing to fear.

We're so not okay with this.

Giphy

Defense attorney Eduardo Balarezo filed a motion in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York, saying:

Such an order would unduly burden Mr. Guzman's presumption of innocence, impair his ability to conduct meaningful voir dire (examination of potential jurors) and create the extremely unfair impression that he is a dangerous person from whom the jury must be protected.

But the drug lord's history of interfering with the judicial process and hiring hit men to murder rivals and witnesses is not convincing prosecutors to dispense with protecting prospective jury members with anonymity.

The prosecutors' motion states that Guzman "hindered the judicial process twice by engineering and organizing his own escapes from prison, engaging in widespread corruption related to public officials, and hiring hit men to engage in acts of violence against rivals and suspected government cooperators."


The biggest concern for the jurors is an act of retaliation from those in Guzman's circle within the cartel. Prosecutors wrote that jury members might be "unable to adequately perform their duties as jurors—if their identities are publicly available."

Not only has the defendant demonstrated both his ability to direct his drug empire while incarcerated as well as his control of a vast network of criminal associates, the defendant also possesses the financial means to procure assistance in interfering with the judicial process.


The drug lord was extradited to the U.S. by the Mexican government earlier in January and faces charges of kidnapping, murder, and drug trafficking. He will defend himself against a 17-count indictment in Brooklyn's Eastern District federal court. El Chapo claims he's not guilty.

Understandably, people aren't comfortable with the jurors' identities being made public with no fear.





The sarcasm was rampant.





It's every man (or woman) for himself.


H/T - Twitter, CNN, Newsweek

More from News

Kathy Bates
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

Kathy Bates Opens Up About Her Decision To Retire From Acting After 'Matlock' Reboot

Oscar-winning actor Kathy Bates is taking her final bow from Hollywood after a career that spanned over six decades.

The 76-year-old star of the stage, screen, and television told The New York Times that her work in the upcoming gender-flipping reboot of the TV show Matlock will be her last.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Stephen Colbert; Donald Trump
@colbertlateshow/Instagram; Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Stephen Colbert Hilariously Reacts To Trump Threatening To 'Punish' Him If He's Elected

Late Show host Stephen Colbert had a hilarious reaction to the news that former President Donald Trump is threatening to "punish" comedians who've criticized him in the event he wins November's presidential election.

The news came by way of Rolling Stone, which reported that Trump has been “venting about the need to punish late-night comedians for giving ‘illegal’ campaign contributions to the Democratic Party — in the form of jokes and on-air satire.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Elon Musk
Jean Catuffe/GC Images/GettyImages

Elon Musk Dragged After Sharing Bizarre AI-Generated Image Of Himself As A Gladiator

SpaceX and xAI founder Elon Musk was relentlessly mocked for sharing an AI-generated image of him as a gladiator with a caption of him vowing to conquer the "woke mind virus."

The over-dramatic image of the beleaguered billionaire clad in armor and looking off into the distance while standing in front of the Roman Colosseum was originally posted on Musk's X platform (formerly Twitter) by a user named DogeDesigner.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Donald Trump in the spin room following the presidential debate
Fox News

Trump Shares Which 'Polls' He Thinks Show He 'Won' The Debate—And Yeah That Tracks

Following his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, former President Donald Trump claimed "polls" showed he "won" the debate—though the polls he chose to cite only underscore how wrong he is.

Instead of citing actual polls from reputable organizations, Trump pointed to random polls from users on X, formerly Twitter, the social media platform owned by his ally, billionaire Elon Musk.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Tim Walz; Taylor Swift
MSNBC; Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

Tim Walz Found Out About Taylor Swift Endorsement Live On Air—And His Reaction Was Priceless

Vice President Kamala Harris's running mate Tim Walz had a priceless reaction after he found out live on MSNBC's air that pop star Taylor Swift had endorsed the Harris campaign.

Walz was in conversation with MSNBC's Rachel Maddow when he learned about Swift's endorsement. Swift, who said in an Instagram post that she was only recently "made aware that AI of ‘me’ falsely endorsing Donald Trump’s presidential run was posted to his site," chose to counter misinformation by expressing her support for the Harris-Walz ticket.

Keep ReadingShow less