CONTENTO

Grinning El Chapo Salutes Attorney as Jury Deliberations Go On

No sign of a verdict yet.

A grinning Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman snapped his lawyer a salute inside a federal courtroom on Wednesday, appearing to be in good spirits as jury deliberations in his drug trafficking case stretched into a fourth day. Federal prosecutors presented extensive evidence against Guzman during a three-month trial, but the jury of eight women and four men have repeatedly requested key witness testimony, indicating they're still hashing out what many considered an open-and-shut case. The jury’s most recent request was for testimony from Jesus Zambada and Vicente Zambada, the brother and son, respectively, of Guzman's alleged partner in crime, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada. They also wanted testimony from cartel higher-up Damaso Lopez. In the written jury note requesting testimony, they also asked “if members of a drug cartel are killed from an opposing cartel for personal reasons, does that constitute as a drug-trafficking crime?” The jury note did not specify whatever murder was on their mind. But Jesus Zambada did give testimony  that Guzman had the brother of another cartel leader murdered—because the ill-fated sibling didn't shake his hand. Guzman and his legal team emphatically shook hands upon learning of the jury's requests, and he gave lead attorney Jeffrey Lichtman an apparent victory wave before being led out of the courtroom.

—Victoria Bekiempis

See more of our coverage in your search results.

ADD THE DAILY BEAST ON GOOGLE

Victoria Bekiempis

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.