El Chapo tortured, killed foes

Recaptured drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman is escorted by soldiers at the hangar belonging to the office of the Attorney General in Mexico City. Reuters file photo. A fo

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NEW YORK — A former hitman for Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman on Thursday offered gruesome testimony in a US court about acts of torture and killings of rivals allegedly committed by the ex-Sinaloa boss.

While Guzman is not on trial for murder, federal prosecutors want to depict him as a violent and ruthless man ready to do anything to protect his business. He faces trafficking, firearms and money laundering charges that could see him jailed for life in the United States.

The former hitman, Isaias Valdez Rios — who goes by “Memin” or “Memo” — told the court that he saw Guzman kill a member of the rival Arellano Felix cartel. The victim had been tortured before he arrived at El Chapo’s camp.

“He had burns made with an iron on his back, his shirt was stuck to his skin. He had burns made with a car lighter all over his body. His feet were burned,” said the 39-year-old Valdez Rios.

The witness said that after two interrogations, Guzman shot the man, uttering his signature kill phrase: “F*ck your mother!”

Valdez Rios told the court he had also seen El Chapo torture and kill two other members of the Zetas drug cartel.