El Chapo sentenced to life imprisonment

By James Blears

In Mexico, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, once bribed his way out of maximum security prison. In a clean break, he was whisked away in a laundry basket. For the second escape, his henchmen dug a 1.5km tunnel leading right into his cell. Extradited to the United States and convicted of narcotics trafficking as well as firearms charges, Chapo, which means "Shorty, " is now in for a long stretch. He`s going to be sent to Florence Supermax Penitentiary, in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Known as the Alcatraz of the Rockies, no one has escaped from there, since it opened in 1994. But it`s never held a prisoner anywhere near as cunning and resourceful as Chapo.

Described as: "An overwhelming evil," by trial Judge Brian Cogan, Chapo created, built, masterminded and ruthlessly micro managed the Sinaloa drug cartel, which sends illegal narcotics to more than 40 countries, the World over. He was once named on Forbes Richest list. US Authorities will have a hard time recovering the 12.6 billion dollars, which the Judge has ordered Chapo to forfeit. Chapo never deposited his money in banks, saying they aren`t trustworthy or secure.

The Sinaloa cartel has moved on apace since Chapo`s final arrest and extradition. It`s drugs are still seeping into the United States and its still killing rivals and those who stand in its way.