Nearly a decade after a Brooklyn grand jury handed down the first of many indictments against him, jury selection will finally begin Monday for notorious cartel kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera.
An anonymous pool of potential jurors — gleaned from 1,000 New Yorkers who were sent a 31-page questionnaire — will arrive in Brooklyn federal court, where they will lay eyes on the runty drug baron himself as they are probed as potential panelists at Guzman Loera’s trial on drug-conspiracy charges.
The jurors selected will be transported to and from the courthouse by federal guards.
As a reason for such precautions, Brooklyn federal judge Brian Cogan has echoed prosecutors’ points that the Sinaloa Cartel is known to “[employ] ‘sicarios,’ ” or hit men, who have carried out hundreds of acts of violence against rivals.
Opening statements are expected Nov. 13.