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Feds want 11-year sentence for reputed ‘El Chapo’ associate

Prosecutors have asked a U.S. judge to sentence a reputed associate of Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman to around 11 years in prison for ...
scales of justice

CHICAGO (AP) — Prosecutors have asked a U.S. judge to sentence a reputed associate of Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman to around 11 years in prison for helping to launder more $1.5 million in drug money.

Edgar Manuel Valencia Ortega is scheduled to be sentenced Friday, September 23, 2016 in Chicago federal court. Ortega, whose nickname was “the Fox,” faces a maximum 20-year sentence.

The recommendation of 11 is at the lower end of guideline calculations. Prosecutors said in a sentencing memo last week that the 29-year-old Mexican citizen played an important role in the trafficking scheme but a lesser one than other traffickers.

Guzman is named as a defendant in the same case and is behind bars in Mexico. Chicago is one of several U.S. cities where Guzman could go if Mexico extradites him.

Click here for more information on the El Chapo case

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