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'El Chapo' Guzman is on trial in New York for leading 'the largest drug trafficking organization in the world,' and his attorneys are saying he's a 'scapegoat' who 'controlled nothing'

Guzman is accused of building an empire with cocaine. His lawyers say he's being made into a "scapegoat" by rivals and the government.

Mexican drug lord Joaquin El Chapo Guzman escorted by soldiers in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, as he is extradited to New York, January 19, 2017.
  • Opening arguments in the trial of accused Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman started Tuesday.
  • The prosecution described him as a brutal drug trafficker who built a billion-dollar organization.
  • The defense cast him as a the victim of a conspiracy mounted by fellow cartel members, the Mexican government, and US authorities, saying he "controlled nothing" and that the real leader of the cartel is still running free.

Opening statements on the first day of accused Mexican cartel chief Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's trial were delayed by six hours, after two jurors were replaced.

But both sides came out swinging in a case expected to last up to four months.

Guzman himself faces 17 criminal counts and, if convicted, a life sentence.

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"He's blamed for being the leader while the real leaders are living freely and openly in Mexico," Jeffrey Lichtman, one of Guzman's lawyers, said on Tuesday.

"In truth he controlled nothing. Mayo Zambada did," Lichtman said, referring to Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, 70, who is thought to have cofounded the cartel with Guzman and is in hiding in Mexico. Zambada was indicted alongside Guzman but has never been arrested.

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Guzman's defense team appears to be arguing that Guzman was built up by Zambada and the Mexican government, which used him as a "scapegoat" for the killing of Posadas.

"The affirmations said to be made by the lawyer of Joaquín 'el Chapo' Guzmán are absolutely false and reckless," Calderon said. "Neither him, nor the Sinaloa cartel nor anyone else made payments to me."

Peña Nieto leaves office at the end of November. Calderon, elected in 20016, left office at the end of 2012.

Corruption was said to be one of Guzman's main tactics, and allegations of bribes from narcos are nothing new for Mexican politicians. But the accusations made on Tuesday are as yet unsubstantiated.

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Guzman's lawyers said they would detail them further as other witnesses — many of them convicted cartel figures — testify, according to Feuer.

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