Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Arrives in US after Extradition
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, Mexico’s most notorious cartel kingpin who twice made brazen prison escapes and spent years on the run as the country’s most wanted man, is in the US after being extradited from Mexico on Thursday to face drug trafficking and other charges.
The plane carrying Guzman landed at MacArthur Airport in Islip, Long Island, Thursday evening after about a four-hour flight from Mexico.
Mexico’s Foreign Relations Department announced Guzman was handed over to US authorities for transportation to the US on Thursday, the last day of President Barack Obama’s administration and a day before Donald Trump is to be inaugurated.
A senior law enforcement official said the US Drug Enforcement Administration took custody of Guzman in Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas, and a plane carrying him departed for New York at 5:31 p.m. Eastern time. The officials agreed to give the information only if not quoted by name because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
He was escorted into the US at MacArthur by agents from the DEA and the US Homeland Security, officials said, CBS reported.
He was flown on a Mexican jet accompanied by DEA agents, medics and mechanics, law enforcement sources told CBS News senior investigative producer Pat Milton.
He is expected to be transported under heavy security by caravan to Brooklyn from MacArthur Airport. He is due to be arraigned in US District Court in Brooklyn Friday morning, Milton reported.
New York is one of several US jurisdictions where Guzman faces charges.
The US Department of Justice most recently indicted him on a new set of charges in Brooklyn in May 2016 on 16 drug related counts. Guzman will face trial in Brooklyn, the DOJ said.
