UPDATED: 2019/02/12 1:00PM

The Mexican crime lord known as El Chapo was convicted on Tuesday after an extensive three-month long drug trial in New York. Through what defense attorney, Jeffrey Lichtman described as a case “…with so many cooperating witnesses and so much evidence,”  the prosecutorial team was able to expose the inner workings of his sprawling cartel; which over many years, illegally imported literal tons of drugs into the United States and plagued Mexico with relentless bloodshed and corruption.

Serving as a dark folk hero in Mexico, El Chapo, whose real name is Joaquín Guzmán Loera, must face the truth that his career as a legendary outlaw, known for notorious for his innovative smuggling tactics, his violence against competitors, his storied prison breaks and his nearly unstoppable ability to evade the Mexican authorities, has ended

As Judge Brian M. Cogan read the jury’s charge sheet in open court — 10 straight guilty verdicts on all 10 counts of the indictment — Mr. Guzmán sat listening to a translator, looking stunned. When the reading of the verdict was complete, Mr. Guzmán leaned back to glance at his wife, Emma Coronel Aispuro, who flashed him a tearful thumbs up.

The jury’s decision came after more than a week of deliberations at the trial in Federal District Court in Brooklyn

As a result, not only does Mr. Guzmán now face life in prison at his sentencing hearing, scheduled for June 25; but as Ángel Meléndez, Homeland Security special agent, put it, this sweeping conviction sends a message to other cartel kingpins, “You’re not unreachable, you’re not untouchable and your day will come.”