The Mexican is accused of being behind the all-powerful Sinaloa drug cartel, which prosecutors say was the biggest supplier of drugs to the States. If convicted of international drug trafficking, conspiring to murder rivals, gun charges and money laundering, he faces a sentence of life in prison. Guzmán was arrested in January 2016 after escaping from prison through a tunnel five months earlier. He was extradited to the United States last year, and has been held in solitary confinement ever since.
– The trial of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman begins in Brooklyn Tuesday, and it won't include a hug between the drug kingpin and his wife. NBC News reports his lawyers had asked that he be permitted to give the former beauty queen "a brief momentary greeting to include perhaps an embrace" in advance of the proceedings, but on Thursday, Brooklyn federal court Judge Brian Cogan ruled that while Guzman has indeed "displayed considerable grace under pressure," the government had barred him from having any physical contact or communication with Emma Coronel Aispuro as a way of preventing him "from coordinating any escape from prison or directing any attack" on witnesses. And that's hardly the only interesting element of the trial. Here's what you need to know: What he's on trial for: CNN reports the 61-year-old faces charges of international drug trafficking, conspiring to murder rivals, gun violations, and money laundering. It's all tied to his alleged position as leader of the Sinaloa drug cartel, which the BBC reports is being described by prosecutors as the No. 1 supplier of drugs to the US. The trial is expected to last as long as four months, and he faces a potential life sentence if convicted.