NYC prepares for risks of El Chapo trial

The trial of one of the world's most powerful drug lords begins with
jury selection on November 5th in New York City.

Joaquín Guzmán Loera - better known as El Chapo - is accused of
smuggling hundreds of thousands of kilograms of drugs into the United
States, money laundering and murdering rivals within his Sinaloa
cartel.

Prosecutors are now taking unusual precautions to keep witnesses and
the city safe.

As Nick Harper reports from New York.

IN: "Joaquin..."
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TAKE VO
Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's extradition to the U.S. in January last
year was the culmination of a more than decade-long investigation -
and seen as a huge win for U.S. law enforcement.

SOT- U.S. Attorney Robert L. Capers- Jan 20th 2017: "Guzman's
destructive and murderous rise an international narcotics trafficker
is akin to that of a small cancerous tumor."

TAKE VO
Security for this trial is paramount. The notorious drug dealer and
jail breaker has escaped two maximum security prisons - once by hiding
in a laundry cart and then by exiting through a mile-long tunnel that
started in his prison shower.
TAKE VO
Now one of the world's most dangerous criminals is coming to New York.
And that's worrying some analysts in the intelligence community.

SOT- Tony Schiena, Mosaic CEO & Former Intelligence Operator: "New
York City is a logistical nightmare to have el Chapo on trial here.
It's transporting one of the most powerful criminal figures on the
planet who has a history of being very capable in escaping. Does he
have people in New York - absolutely he has people in New York. Will
he attempt something? We don't know."

TAKE VO
Part of the problem is geography - El Chapo is locked up in
Manhattan's maximum security facility, known as '10 South'. But his
trial is in Brooklyn, meaning daily car rides across the river on some
of the city's busiest roads, causing a sizable security headache.
TAKE VO
Prosecutors are also going to extraordinary lengths to keep people
safe from possible cartel retribution. Witnesses are in protection
programs, their names blanked out on court documents. While jurors
are being picked in secret, behind closed doors, and will serve
anonymously.
TAKE VO
Maki Haberfeld, who's studied international policing for several
decades, thinks the federal government is hoping the trial will act as
a deterrent to other drug traffickers could backfire.

SOT - Dr. Maki Haberfeld, Professor of Police Science, John Jay
College of Criminal Justice: "To me it's not worth it. I think it's
oxygen of publicity. It also glorifies in a way El Chapo and his
cartel. So it becomes even counterproductive beyond the expenses and
the resources we're really giving them the publicity that they should
not be getting."

TAKE VO
If found guilty the Mexican drug lord will likely spend the rest of
his life in a maximum security prison - with little chance of escape.
SOC