UPDATED: 2019/02/01

The jury of the El Chapo trial have heard 35 days worth of outlandish, gory, and surreal testimony, and now it is time for them to retire to deliberate his fate. The case is expected to go to the jury on Monday, February 4th. After hearing the testimony of 56 witnesses, seven women and five men will decide whether or not El Chapo aka Joaquin Guzman is guilty of trafficking nearly 450,000 pounds of cocaine, conspiring to murder his rivals and laundering millions of dollars.

The trial of epic proportions was being held in Brooklyn, New York under immense security and promised an “avalanche of evidence” on the part of the prosecution that would prove Guzman ran a murderous drug empire. Meanwhile, Guzman’s defense largely attempted to prove that the witnesses the prosecution brought forth were nothing more than people who “lie, steal, cheat, deal drugs, and kill people.”

There were stories of brutal murders, courtroom dramatics as drug kingpins were brought in and even a moment where Guzman’s ex-wife and current girlfriend wore matching blazers to show solidarity with Guzman. There was even an accusation from his personal secretary saying that he paid a $100 million bribe to former Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto (that Peña Nieto denied).

Federal prosecutors took 11 weeks to present their case while the defense rested after 30 minutes. Guzman did not testify.