Behind the El Chapo trial: what's been left unsaid in a New York courtroom
The tectonic plates beneath a big mafia trial shift out of sight from the proceedings, but occasionally there is a glimpse of the bigger picture. The trial of the alleged Sinaloa cartel chief Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán – which resumes on Thursday – has been no exception.
The proceedings have offered extraordinary detail of the workings of a Mexican cartel, but have been hallmarked by what is unseen – and kept that way by Judge Brian Cogan.
Day-to-day testimony has been like a Netflix thriller, yet it has obscured the nexus of top-level corruption the world’s biggest criminal organisation operated north and south of the US border.
The detail from cartel “snitches” has been riveting. Guzmán’s first employee, pilot Miguel Ángel Martínez, described a trip with Guzmán to Japan, Thailand and Macau, and a visit they made to Los Angeles
