'El Chapo' appears in US courthouse

In this photo provided US law enforcement, authorities escort Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, center, from a plane to a waiting caravan of SUVs at Long Island MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma, New York. Photo: US law enforcement via AP

In this photo provided US law enforcement, authorities escort Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, center, from a plane to a waiting caravan of SUVs at Long Island MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma, New York. Photo: US law enforcement via AP

Published Jan 20, 2017

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New York - Notorious Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman is in a US courthouse, two decades after he was first sought by federal authorities.

The convicted leader of the Sinaloa cartel was brought into a Brooklyn courthouse on Friday to await his appearance before a federal judge.

An indictment charges Guzman with running a massive drug trafficking operation that laundered billions of dollars and oversaw murders and kidnappings.

Guzman has twice escaped from maximum-security Mexican prisons, most recently in 2015 via a hole in the floor of his cell shower.

His lawyer says his Thursday extradition was politically motivated.

Now in his late 50s, Guzman was first indicted in Southern California in the early 1990s.

Associated Press

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