Mexican drug lord ‘El Chapo’ faces sentencing in US case

NEW YORK (AP) — Will the notorious Mexican drug lord known as “El Chapo” go quietly?

For Joaquin Guzman, that’s the biggest question at his sentencing in New York City on Wednesday.

The highly-anticipated hearing could be his last chance to speak publicly before spending the rest of his life behind bars at a maximum security U.S. prison.

The 62-year-old Guzman was convicted in February on multiple conspiracy counts in an epic drug-trafficking case. The government says the guilty verdict at an 11-week trial triggered a mandatory sentence of life without parole.

Prosecutors say evidence showed that under Guzman’s orders, the Sinaloa cartel was responsible for multiple murders and for smuggling mountains of cocaine and other drugs into the United States during his 25-year reign. The defense said he was framed.