Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
El Chapo Could Be Extradited To Brooklyn
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jan 10, 2016
Modified Jan 10, 2016
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jan 10, 2016
Modified Jan 10, 2016
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
By now, you may have already pored over Sean Penn's flatulent-ridden ode to El Chapo in Rolling Stone. Penn met with Mexican drug lord Joaquín Guzmán Loera in October, a few months after his elaborate escape from prison; in the process, he apparently inadvertently tipped off authorities to Guzmán's location, leading to his most recent arrest this week.
Mexican federal law enforcement officials indicated this weekend that the country is now willing to extradite Guzmán to the United Stated to be tried for his crimes, after his dramatic, million-dollar escape from jail there last summer humiliated authorities and brought doubt over whether he could be kept in jail there. The Daily News reports Guzmán is facing a 21-count indictment in the Eastern District of New York, which includes money laundering and 12 murders.
With charges brought in numerous jurisdictions in the United States, another key question is where Mr. Guzmán would be tried. One possibility, officials said, would be to try him in the eastern district of New York in Brooklyn — not only because he was indicted there, but also because Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch was the United States attorney when the charges were brought.
And she would be the one to ultimately decide where he would be tried.
Initial charges in Brooklyn against Mr. Guzmán and several associates were brought in 2009. More recently, when Ms. Lynch was in charge of the office, prosecutors in Brooklyn consolidated the charges against him with another pending case in Florida.
Their joint indictment charged Mr. Guzmán and another suspected leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, Ismael Zambada García, with distributing more than 500 tons of cocaine in the United States since the late 1980s. It also charged them with distribution of heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana.
The Times adds that officials believe Guzmán has been the biggest supplier of cocaine to the NYC area for over a decade; in his most recent indictment, prosecutors listed "163 separate counts of distribution of cocaine in the United States, ranging from 234 kilograms to as much as 23,000 kilos."
If El Chapo is brought to NYC (which probably wouldn't happen for a long time, assuming his lawyers will fight extradition) and tries to construct another mile-long tunnel to facilitate his escape, he may find it's a lot more difficult when you have to contend with millions of rats.
Tagged
brooklyn
el chapo
extradition
joaquin guzman
mexico
sean penn
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Better days ahead for NYC commuters with Democrats in control of Congress, MTA chair says
Republicans’ “anti-city” agenda was rejected by voters, MTA Chair Janno Lieber said.
By
Stephen Nessen
and
Ramsey Khalifeh
Published Nov 5, 2026 at 5:59 p.m. ET
$20 rent-control cap coming to Elizabeth, New Jersey
Voters approved the annual limit in this week's election.
By
Michael Sol Warren
News
$20 rent-control cap coming to Elizabeth, New Jersey
Voters approved the annual limit in this week's election.
By
Michael Sol Warren
Feds accuse former FBI agent of Brooklyn hit and run, leaving victim on a bench
By
Charles Lane
Battery found at deadly Sunset Park fire days after similar blaze in Bronx
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Inside New York's bitter Republican civil war after blue wave
By
Walter Wuthmann
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .