Ultimately, it may be Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman’s own words that come back to haunt him as he stands trial in the US accused of drug trafficking, write NJ Burkett and David Alire Garcia.

Mexican drug cartels whose operatives once rarely ventured beyond the US border are dispatching some of their most trusted agents to live and work deep inside the US — an emboldened presence that experts believe is meant to tighten their grip on the world’s most lucrative narcotics market and maximise profits.

A drug kingpin in Mexico is being named as Chicago’s public enemy No 1 — a label first given to gangster Al Capone and one that hasn’t been used since the 1930s.

MEXICAN drug lord Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman is “the world’s most powerful drug trafficker”, according to the US Treasury Department.