‘El Chapo’ Says He Will Not Testify in His Own Defense

A T-shirt of fugitive Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman covers a mannequin representing Jesus Malverde, known in Mexico as the "saint" of drug traffickers, inside the shrine of a faith healer in Mexico City, on Oct. 16, 2015. The government is offering a reward of 60 million pesos (about $3.5 million) for Guzman's recapture after he made his second escape from a maximum security prison through an underground tunnel in 2015. AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo

NEW YORK—Accused Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman said in court on Jan. 28 that he will not testify in his own defense at his U.S. trial.

Guzman announced his decision after prosecutors rested their case against him in federal court in Brooklyn. After excusing the jury, U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan asked Guzman directly whether he understood it was his decision, not that of his lawyers, to testify or not.