A former top lieutenant to accused Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman on Tuesday said he and his former boss once discussed killing a police officer as a favour to a local politician.
Damaso Lopez Nunez, giving evidence against Guzman in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, walked jurors through a BlackBerry message exchange in September 2013 in which he said he told Guzman that the mayor of La Paz, a city in the state of Baja California Sur, wanted them to "remove" a "cop that has been bothering her."
Guzman, Nunez said, responded that they should do the mayor the “favour”, because she was a favourite for a state-level office in a coming election. He said they should make the hit look like “revenge from some gangbanger”.
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Read more:
El Chapo associate says kingpin paid $100 million bribe to former Mexican president
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Lopez did not say whether the murder took place.
The mayor of La Paz in 2013 was Esthela Ponce Beltran, who could not immediately be reached for comment.
Guzman, 61, who was extradited to the United States in 2017, has been on trial since November on charges of trafficking cocaine, heroin and other drugs into the country as leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, one of the world’s largest drug-trafficking organisations.
His lawyers have argued that he has been framed by the cartel’s real leader, Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada.
Lopez, 52, was arrested in Mexico City on US drug charges in 2017 and extradited to the United States in July, where he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison. He said Tuesday he is hoping to have his sentence reduced by co-operating with prosecutors.
At the time of Lopez’s arrest in May 2017, Mexican officials said he was believed to have been seeking an alliance with Guzman’s rival, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
Lopez spent much of his time on the stand corroborating evidence from the dozen or so other cartel members who have appeared at the trial, now in its third month.
Lopez said he began working for Guzman around 2001, helping to arrange drug shipments and bribe government officials, and eventually becoming godfather to one of Guzman’s twin daughters.
Lopez is expected to continue testifying Wednesday.
After jurors had left for the day, one of the prosecutors, Gina Parlovecchio, told US District Judge Brian Cogan the prosecution expected to wrap up its case either Thursday afternoon or Monday morning.
After that, Guzman's lawyers will have a chance to call their own witnesses. It is not yet known whether Guzman will give evidence himself.
Cryopreservation: A timeline
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Company%20Profile
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Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
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McLaren GT specs
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Transmission: seven-speed
Power: 620bhp
Torque: 630Nm
Price: Dh875,000
On sale: now
Uefa Champions League play-off
First leg: Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Ajax v Dynamo Kiev
Second leg: Tuesday, August 28, 11pm (UAE)
Dynamo Kiev v Ajax
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Match info:
Wolves 1
Boly (57')
Manchester City 1
Laporte (69')
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
if you go
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Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
ULTRA PROCESSED FOODS
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- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
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- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
AIDA%20RETURNS
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COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: BorrowMe (BorrowMe.com)
Date started: August 2021
Founder: Nour Sabri
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce / Marketplace
Size: Two employees
Funding stage: Seed investment
Initial investment: $200,000
Investors: Amr Manaa (director, PwC Middle East)
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre turbo 4-cyl
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Power: 190bhp
Torque: 300Nm
Price: Dh169,900
On sale: now