The hits just keep on coming.

We were always going to keep a close eye on what was happening over in Brooklyn, as Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman stands trial on a number of charges, but the case really is delivering the goods.

Hot off the heels of last week’s drama, where El Chapo’s text messages to his wife and mistresses were read out (yes, his wife was there and it was awkward), came the testimony of Alex Cifuentes, a Colombian trafficker who once served as Guzman’s secretary and close personal aide.

Plenty of former associates and Sinaloa cartel confidantes have turned on Guzman already, but this time it was former Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto whose ears were ringing.

Cifuentes testified that the cartel had given Peña Nieto a $100 million bribe, as CNN reports:

Cifuentes had been testifying about two years spent living with Guzman in the mountains of Sinaloa as the fugitive kingpin eluded the army.

While previous testimony implicated lower-level Mexican politicians as well as police and military officials in the vast corruption network that facilitated Guzman’s cartel’s trafficking, Tuesday’s accounts struck at the highest levels of Mexican political life…

Under cross examination by defense lawyer Lichtman, who referred to transcripts of de-briefings Cifuentes had with US authorities, Cifuentes alleged that a $100 million bribe was paid to Peña Nieto [above], who was President from 2012 to 2018…

Cifuentes told authorities the money was given to Peña Nieto in October 2012, when he was president-elect.

“Yes, that very thing is what Joaquin told me,” Cifuentes responded, adding that a bribe would ensure the kingpin could “continue working.”

Well, that’s not a good look for Peña Nieto, whose spokespeople have consistently denied the claims. With nothing to go on other than having watched Narcos, it seems quite possible to me.

Cifuentes also testified about various methods of transporting drugs for the cartel:

Cifuentes, who described himself as Guzman’s “right-hand man, his left-hand man,” had testified earlier Tuesday that Guzman had attempted a $10 million bribe to another high ranking Mexican official but was turned down because the official disliked Guzman.

Cifuentes [above right] took the stand against his former boss on Thursday, sharing details on Guzman’s trafficking operations and how the head of the Sinaloa cartel evaded authorities in a series of remote mountain hideaways in his home state.

I guess it’s also a little easier to hide away if you have the country’s president on your payroll.

The trial continues.

[source:cnn]