World News

Drug kingpin El Chapo sentenced to life in US prison

Once one of the world’s most powerful and notorious criminals, Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was jailed for life Wednesday — the mandatory sentence for a host of crimes spanning a quarter-century.

Guzman, the 62-year-old former co-leader of Mexico’s mighty Sinaloa drug cartel, was convicted in February in US federal court on a variety of charges, including trafficking hundreds of tons of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines and marijuana to the United States.

Drug kingpin El Chapo

The much-anticipated sentencing hearing in a New York courtroom caps a dramatic legal saga and saw Guzman deliver what will likely be his final public words before he is taken to a supermax federal prison in Colorado for the rest of his days.

“Since the government of the United States is going to send me to a prison where they will never hear my name, I take this opportunity to tell them: there was no justice here,” he said, wearing a gray suit, lilac shirt, purple tie and publicly sporting his mustache for the first time stateside.

The charges, which also include money laundering and weapons-related offenses, carried a mandatory life sentence.

US Federal Judge Brian Cogan tacked a symbolic 30 years on the sentence and ordered Guzman to pay $12.6-billion in forfeiture — an amount based on a conservative estimate of revenues from his cartel’s drug sales in the United States. So far, US authorities have not recovered a dime.

You might also like…Veteran actress Nomhle Nkonyeni to be honoured with a special official State funeral

The Eastern Cape Government on Wednesday said it would honour veteran actress Nomhle Nkonyeni by giving her a special provincial official State funeral. President Cyril Ramaphosa approved an official request from Eastern Cape premier, Lubabalo Oscar Mabuyane, to accord Nkonyeni the honour. She will be buried on Friday in New Brighton, Port Elizabeth.

Nomhle Nkonyeni

The 77-year-old actress died in Port Elizabeth, her home town, on Wednesday, after a short illness. Born in New Brighton, she has been known for her acting career in theatre, which began when she was 19…Read more here

Source: eNCA