Prosecutors want sanctions for El Chapo lawyers over for cell call

Timothy A. Clary | AFP | Getty Images

Emma Coronel Aispuro, wife of accused Mexican drug lord Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman, leaves after a pre-trial hearing at Brooklyn Federal Courthouse in the Brooklyn borough of New York, on August 14, 2018. 

In that ruling, Cogan said he was sympathetic to the request.

But the judge noted that he had previously upheld the government’s “restriction that prohibits defendant from communicating with or having any physical contact with his wife” in order to prevent Guzman “from coordinating any escape from prison or directing any attack on individuals who might be cooperating with the Government.”

The 15-page letter that was publicly released Tuesday is heavily redacted, with large sections blacked out which presumably have more details of the allegations about the cell phone usage.

Prosecutors said they deferred to Cogan on what sanctions to impose on Guzman’s lawyers, but at minimum wanted something that was blacked out from public view.

There are a series of so-called special administrative measures in place for Guzman’s case.

“The SAMs authorized in this case impose various restrictions on the defendant and defense counsel, based on a determination by the Attorney General that communications and contacts between the defendant and other persons could result in death or serious bodily injury to others,” said the letter to the judge from prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.

“The SAMs also restrict telephone calls with the defendant. In particular, the SAMs provide that: For all non-legally privileged telephone calls or communications, no telephone call/communication, or portion thereof: i. Is to be overheard by a third party. ii. Is to be patched through, or in any manner forwarded or transmitted, to a third party. iii. Shall be divulged in any manner to a third party,” the letter said.

CNBC has requested comment from Guzman’s lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman.

Guzman has pleaded not guilty in the case, where he is accused of using his Sinaloa cartel to export tons of drugs into th U.S. He also is accused of using violence to maintain control over the business.

Guzman had twice escaped custody in Mexico, the first time in 2001, after being indicted in San Diego, California. He was apprehended again in 2014, but then escaped a year later through a tunnel constructed under the maximum security prison where he was being held. He was captured again in 2016, and then extradited to the United States.