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Judge delays start of 'El Chapo' trial by two months

By Daniel Uria
A federal judge in New York ruled on Monday to delay the start of the trial of accused drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman from September to November. Photo by Mario Guzman/EPA
A federal judge in New York ruled on Monday to delay the start of the trial of accused drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman from September to November. Photo by Mario Guzman/EPA

July 16 (UPI) -- A federal judge ruled Monday to delay the trial of accused drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman by two months.

U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan for the Eastern District of New York delayed the start of the trial from Sept. 5 to Nov. 5 at the request of Guzman's lawyer, Eduardo Balarezo, after he received new evidence from prosecutors.

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The trial for Guzman, who twice escaped from prisons in Mexico and was extradited to the United States last year, is expected to last 12 weeks.

Cogan previously scheduled to bring in hundreds of jurors to fill out questionnaires in mid-August.

In the same ruling, he also barred prosecutors from introducing any evidence at trial they hadn't disclosed to the defense team before June 26.

Cogan didn't yet issue a ruling on whether the trial would be moved from Brooklyn to Manhattan or Philadelphia.

Balarezo suggested moving the trial, stating traffic and resulting spectacle when officials close the Brooklyn Bridge for his motorcade to travel from Manhattan to Brooklyn could prejudice potential jurors.

Balarezo also previously demanded the government release evidence indicating Guzman was actually not in charge of Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel, but instead was a "middle manager."

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