​Mexican Drug Boss El Chapo Sentenced To Life In Prison

Mexican drug kingpin Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán has been sentenced to life in prison, following his appearance in a New York courtroom today.

Guzmán, 62, was convicted back in February for crimes that span a quarter of a century, including trafficking hundreds of tonnes of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines and marijuana to the United States, along with money laundering and weapons-related offences.

Court papers released at the time of his arrest also accused him of drugging and raping girls as young as 13. According to the BBC, former associate Alex Cifuentes is quoted as saying Guzmán 'called the youngest of the girls his "vitamins" because he believed that sexual activity with young girls gave him "life".'

PA

Cifuentes also alleged that Guzmán gave former Mexican president, Enrique Peña Nieto, a $100 million (£80m) bribe, and claimed Nieto contacted Guzmán after he took office in 2012 saying he would end a manhunt against him in return for $250m (£200m).

The former leader of the Sinaloa organisation, Guzmán was once one of the richest people in the world, and was listed on Forbes' rich list of the globe's most affluent billionaires in 2009.

However, 'El Chapo' (aka 'The Shorty') is arguably best known for his series of high-profile prison breaks.

In 2001, he broke out by hiding in a laundry cart, and spent the next 13 years in and around Sinaloa in hiding.

After being recaptured in 2014, he escaped once again in July 2015 through a mile-long tunnel that took him out of maximum-security Altiplano prison.

A GPS watch had been smuggled through to Guzmán's cell and his sons bought a property on the periphery of the prison. From this point, diggers crafted a tunnel to his cell and he escaped using an adapted motorcycle.

Guzmán was arrested for a third time in 2016, when he was also extradited to the US - and was placed under a much tighter watch.

His life has even become the subject of a Netflix series called El Chapo, which is now in its third season.

Topics: World News, News, US News, el chapo

Jess Hardiman

Jess is a journalist at LADbible who graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Film Studies, English Language and Linguistics - indecisiveness at its finest, right there. She also works for FOODbible and its sister page Seitanists, which are both a safe haven for her to channel a love for homemade pasta, fennel and everything else in between. You can contact Jess at [email protected].

@Jess_Hardiman