‘El Chapo’ paid former Mexico president $100m bribe, says trial witness
Pena Nieto’s former spokesperson denies the allegations and dismisses the testimony as defamatory
New York/Mexico City — Accused Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman once paid a $100m bribe to former Mexican president Enrique Pena Nieto, a former Guzman associate testified on Tuesday, saying he had previously told US authorities. Alex Cifuentes, who has described himself as Guzman’s one-time right-hand man, discussed the alleged bribe under cross-examination by Jeffrey Lichtman, one of Guzman’s lawyers, in a Brooklyn federal court. Asked if he told authorities in 2016 that Guzman arranged the bribe, he answered, “That’s right.” Reuters could not immediately reach Pena Nieto or his former spokesperson for comment. He has previously denied taking bribes. His former chief of staff, however, took to social media to reject the accusation. “The declarations of the Colombian drug trafficker in New York are false, defamatory and absurd,” wrote Francisco Guzman in a post on Twitter, adding that the Pena Nieto government “located, detained and extradited” the Mexican kingpin. The a...
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