If Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman thinks he’s going to escape from an American prison like he did from a Mexican penitentiary, he’s got another thing coming, a federal official said Friday.
“I can assure you no tunnel will be built leading to his bathroom,” Immigration and Customs Enforcement Special Agent in Charge Angel Melendez announced during a press conference at Brooklyn Federal Court.
Melendez was referring to Guzman’s infamous 2015 Houdini-like escape from a Mexican maximum-security prison when he rode a motorcycle on a track through a tunnel after he slipped out of his cell through a hole he carved in the bathroom. He was recaptured after six months on the lam.
At the press conference, Eastern District U.S. Attorney Robert Capers said that Brooklyn was the best venue for Guzman to be tried for his multitude of crimes despite the fact that the kingpin has been indicted in several other jurisdictions from coast to coast.
When asked by a reporter why Brooklyn was chosen over other jurisdictions, Capers fired back, “Because it’s Brooklyn!” prompting laughter from everyone in the room.
“Sorry, I couldn’t pass that up,” Capers said, adding, “There were several multi-ton seizures of narcotics, heroine, cocaine and methamphetamine that occurred here in this district.”
Another reporter asked whether Sean Penn would be called as a witness. The Hollywood star interviewed Guzman for Rolling Stone magazine while the drug lord was still on the lam in 2015.
Capers didn’t deny that Penn might make a cameo at the trial, saying only that more than 40 witnesses will be called to testify.
Guzman will be arraigned Friday afternoon in Brooklyn Federal Court on a 17-count indictment charging him with money laundering and the manufacturing and distribution of cocaine, heroin and other deadly drugs.
He was extradited to New York on Thursday night, flying under heavily armed guard in a military plane to Macarthur airport on Long Island.
If convicted, Guzman faces life in prison.
Melendez said he and other top federal officials were present when El Chapo was hauled off the plane at Macarthur Airport. He provided reporters with a vivid account of the now diminished drug lord.
“As he deplaned, the most notorious criminal of modern times, as you looked into his eyes, you could see surprise, you could see shock and to a certain extent, you could actually see the fear as the realization started to kick in that he’s about to face American justice,” Melendez said.
FBI Assistant Director in Charge William Sweeney said at the presser that “Guzman ruled with an iron fist in Mexico creating a worldwide empire using murder intimidation and bribery to remain at the top.”