The government of the United States requested to dismiss several charges of drug trafficking against the Mexican Joaquín el Chapo Guzmán with a view to accelerating the trial against him, scheduled for November 5 and in which he will also face life imprisonment.
The federal prosecutor for the Eastern district of New York presented the request for dismissal of different charges last Friday, which was communicated on Sunday by one of the lawyers of the Chapo, Eduardo Balarezo.
In the documents entered, the prosecution stated that "none of the changes alters the essential elements of the crimes charged", in addition to the fact that the reduction of charges does not modify the evidence on the facts or alter the substance of the charges.
According to the lawyer, the prosecution has filed that petition because it has no evidence against it to support the accusations of distribution of six different amounts of cocaine in the US, some of more than 1,000 kilograms, on different dates.
It was also requested to dismiss the charge against him for maintaining a criminal enterprise. The indictment argues that between January 1989 and December 2014, Guzmán led a criminal enterprise responsible for importing and distributing tons of illegal narcotics to the United States, as well as conspiring to kill people who threatened this operation.
"They are dismissing these issues because they have no evidence," said the lawyer, who explained that the New York judge handling the case, Brian Cogan, will be able to respond to the prosecution even on the same day as the start of the trial, which could last several months.
Guzmán is also accused of using firearms in connection with his alleged drug trafficking business, as well as money laundering related to the massive smuggling of just over 14 billion dollars in cash from the United States and Canada to Mexico.
As part of this investigation, about 200 thousand kilograms of cocaine linked to the Pacific cartel were seized. The indictment also seeks the confiscation of more than 14 billion dollars in illicit proceeds allegedly obtained by Guzmán's business.
The alleged leader of the Sinaloa Cartel was extradited to the United States in January 2017 after having twice escaped from Mexican prisons and is also facing life imprisonment for drug trafficking.
Guzman, who was initially presented with 17 counts, is kept alone under extreme security measures in a federal prison in Manhattan.
According to Balarezo, his client has already been informed of the action of the prosecution, so he is "happy" that it is recognized that they have no evidence and "ready to defend themselves" in the trial, which will begin with the selection of the jury .
Judge Cogan already informed in his day that the trial against Chapo could extend up to three months.
"The dismissal of these charges by the government confirms that the government cooked up charges against Joaquín," Balarezo told EFE.
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