El Chapo trial: Joaquín Guzman joked about arming infant daughter with AK47 in texts to wife, court hears

As well as smuggling drugs to the United States, the Sinaloa Cartel has played a major role in narco violence between rival gangs that has torn areas of Mexico apart and defied successive governments.

More than 200,000 people have been killed - many in cartel feuds - since the Mexican government sent troops in to take on the drug gangs in 2006.

Joaquín Guzman faces a 17 count indictment that covers nearly three decades of alleged criminal activities, many related to the Sinaloa Cartel. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

That's all for our coverage on the Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzman trial today. We'll be back tomorrow to bring you all the latest from New York.

In yesterday's hearing, an admitted former Mexican cartel member described how he first met the notorious drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman when he helped him evade a manhunt.

Jesus Zambada identified Guzman in the courtroom and told jurors he "was one of the most powerful drug-traffickers in Mexico," detailing how the Sianola cartel made massive profits by smuggling ton-upon-ton of cocaine into the United States. 

Zambada — a 57-year-old trained accountant who was arrested in 2008 and is still in US custody — was the first of several cooperators expected to give jurors an inside look at a cartel with a legendary lust for drugs, cash and violence. 

Here's more from Zamabada's testimony, who called Mr Guzman "one of the most powerful drug-traffickers in Mexico":

Appearing in a blue jail uniform and wearing tinted glasses, Zambada testified when special military forces were trying to hunt down Guzman in 2001 after a prison break, he was tasked with trying to find a spot where the cartel could land a helicopter for its boss. 

"We were rescuing him ... because the military was about to recapture him," the witness said through a Spanish interpreter. 

Zambada said for most of the 2000s, his brother, Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, and Guzman were considered the top leaders of the Sianola cartel as it imported large shipments of Colombian cocaine by land, sea and air to Mexico before using various means to get it to the U.S. market. A popular smuggling method involved stashing the drugs in containers hidden inside gas tanker trucks filled with fuel, he said. 

As the cocaine was moved north, its profit potential skyrocketed, he said. A kilo purchased in Colombia for $3,000 would fetch $20,000 in Los Angeles, $25,000 in Chicago and $35,000 in New York City, he said. 

The testimony being heard today is from Juses Reynaldo Zambada, 57, who is the brother of drug lord Ismael Zambada.

Mr Zambada — the one testifying — was extradited to the United States from Mexico in 2012, and has been cooperating with American authorities. He has been giving an inner look into the operations of the Sinaloa cartel, which he said has made billions of dollars selling heroin, cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamine.

Here is a video shown in court that showed jurors one of the many ways that the Sinaloa cartel has smuggled drugs into the United States. This one shows a tunnel that connects the United States and Mexico.

We're going to be taking a quick break from this blog, as we await further information from the courtroom. 

The court where Mr Guzman is being tried has a strict no-electronics policy, so news form the inside will be posted here once the court lets out on break.

You can read more about our coverage of Guzman and his many exploits here. 

Mr Zambada is telling the court about how the Sinaloa cartel paid numerous bribes, preferring to deal in American dollars, to police and other high-ranked officials in order to protect the cartel's operations.

Mr Zambada, 57, is an accountant and among several people arrested to be thought of as part of or associated with El Chapo's Sinaloa cartel. He was arrested in 2008 and remains in US custody. Mr Zambada and others are expected to cooperate with US government attorneys to shed light on the infamous group's inner workings.