El Chapo trial - live updates: Guzman paid former Mexican president Pena Nieto a $100m bribe, witness claims
Trial of Joiaquín 'El Chapo' Guzman is expected to last several more weeks
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Your support makes all the difference.The trial of notorious drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzman continues in Brooklyn, New York, and is expected to last into early 2019.
This is the first time a major Mexican drug lord has been tried in a US court and pleaded not guilty. The trial has become increasingly tense in recent days, as Guzman’s attorney seeks to undermine testimonies from major drug traffickers.
Guzman, 61, faces a 17 count indictment that covers nearly three decades of alleged criminal activities. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Follow updates on the trial below
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Per VICE's Keegan Hamilton, the judge dismissed the prosecutors request to halt Lichtman from asking Cifuentes questions about the alleged DEA corruption/bribery.
The judge in the case has noted that testimony about alleged bribes has been seen at the trial before:
"You told the jury in opening the evidence would show Zambada was paying bribes to the president of Mexico" Judge Brian Cogan said. "Nobody has shown me anything so far to back that up."
Jesus Zambada, another cartel member, testified in November he paid a multimillion dollar bribe to an aide of current Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in 2005. The aide was not named but later Gabriel Regino, an official in Mexico City when Mr Lopez Obrador was mayor, wrote on Twitter that an accusation of bribery had emerged against him in the trial but was false.
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