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Mexican drug lord 'El Chapo' faces sentencing in US case

FILE - In this Feb. 22, 2014, file photo, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman is escorted to a helicopter in handcuffs by Mexican navy marines at a navy hanger in Mexico City. Guzman, who was convicted in February 2019 on multiple conspiracy counts in an epic drug-trafficking case, will be sentenced in a New York courtroom on Wednesday, July 17, 2019. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo, File)

NEW YORK — 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 defence said he was framed.

Tom Hays, The Associated Press