Thread by @alanfeuer

Would you like to know what kinds of sentencing benefits the witnesses at Chapo Guzman's trial got in exchange for testifying against him?
Really? Me too!
Well, sorry.
Much of the process is taking place in a dark box of govt secrecy.
Let's take a look...

On 2/7 there was a hearing in Virginia to decide how much to reduce the life sentence of Chapo's top aide, Damaso Lopez Nunez. The hearing, which was sealed, was based on sealed govt filings & resulted in two sealed orders by the judge. That's a lot of sealing.
We know nothing.

Jorge Cifuentes, the Colombian narco who worked w/Chapo moving coke out of Ecuador, was released from prison in 12/2019, according to the Bureau of Prisons.
In October & July 2019, according to his own case file, there were 2 sealed filings.
His sentence?
We don't know.

How about Lucero Sanchez-Lopez, Chapo's mistress, who broke down on the witness stand in tears?
She's no longer in prison either, BOP says. (Release date: unknown.)
The last her case file said was that a status report was due in 9/2019. Nothing was ever publicly filed.

Moving on.
Remember Rey Zambada, the brother of Mayo Zambada? A big trial witness?
He's not in prison either, according to BOP. (Release date: unknown.)
His case file was moved from Brooklyn to DC in 2013. The entire file remains under seal.

What about Tirso Martinez-Sanchez, who testified at the trial to running Chapo's secret cocaine trains?
Well, he's scheduled for sentencing in Brooklyn on 2/20.
Good news, right?
Wrong.
His sentencing memo, filed by the govt on Thursday, is, you guessed it, sealed.

There are legitimate reasons to be secretive about cooperating witnesses. But it damages the credibility of even the best law enforcement efforts when there is no way to know what deals are being struck with them.
When there is no transparency, there can be no accountability.