El Chapo trial: Joaquín Guzman joked about arming infant daughter with AK47 in texts to wife, court hears
Trial of Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzman is expected to last four months
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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 form the trial as they happened
Agencies contributed to this report
Already in the case, a witness was blocked from testifying about allegations of corruption from the Mexican government.
The Mexican government has denied any suggestion of such allegations.
It has been a slow start to testimony today - with testimony from former government officials about the ins and outs of how money laundering works.
The trial is on lunch break - it will resume in 30 mins or so.
The big witness for the afternoon will be someone co-operating with the US government case.
However, there are fears he could be targeted by the cartel.
He will show his face in the courtroom, but judge has ordered sketch artists not to draw his face "in any accurate fashion."
His name will be made public
Miguel Angel Martinez, who described himself as a former manager in the cartel, took the witness stand on the sixth day of Guzman's drug trafficking trial, testifying under an agreement to cooperate with prosecutors. For his safety, court sketch artists were ordered not to draw an accurate likeness of him.
"I knew that he was the boss," Mr Martinez said when a prosecutor, Assistant US Attorney Michael Robotti, asked him about Guzman's role in the organization. "Since I met him, he would give all of us orders."
Guzman, 61, was extradited from Mexico in January 2017 and faces life in prison if convicted. His lawyers are seeking to prove that another drug lord, Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, actually ran the cartel and used Guzman as a scapegoat.
With that, we are ending our coverage for today. Come back tomorrow for more from the trial.
Hello and welcome to another day of the El Chapo trial - the early news is that prosecutors have asked the judge to impose sanctions on Guzman's defence team.
The major issue is alleged contact between Guzman and his wife, Emma Coronel, and Ms Coronel having a phone in the courtroom.
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