NEW YORK—Jurors in the trial of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán Loera will continue deliberations Thursday over whether the infamous Mexican drug lord is guilty of 10 criminal counts related to drug trafficking, after ending a third day of deliberations with no verdict.
The 12-person jury in Brooklyn federal court faces the daunting task of digesting evidence from a three-month trial, during which the government called more than 50 witnesses and showed hundreds of exhibits. To reach a decision, the jurors must go through a 16-page verdict sheet and answer 53 questions.
So far, the jury has deliberated for 17 hours.
The first count alone, which charges Mr. Guzmán with leading a “continuing criminal enterprise” as head of the Sinaloa cartel, lists 27 violations. To convict him of that charge, the jurors must agree unanimously that the government proved Mr. Guzmán committed at least three of the violations, which include conspiracy to murder and distribution of heroin, cocaine and marijuana.
That count also requires jurors to answer whether the government proved the cartel received $10 million or more during at least one 12-month period from the distribution of cocaine.
During deliberations, jurors have submitted several notes to U.S. District Judge Brian M. Cogan, including asking whether ephedrine, which witnesses said Mr. Guzmán’s cartel sold, is considered the same as methamphetamine. The second count charges Mr. Guzmán with an international conspiracy to manufacture and distribute cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana.
On Wednesday, the jury asked whether it constitutes a drug-trafficking crime to kill rival drug cartel members for “personal reasons.” Prosecutors presented evidence at the trial describing Mr. Guzmán’s involvement in dozens of killings.
As the judge answered the jury’s question, Mr. Guzmán, wearing a suit and tie, stared at the jury smiling, slowly nodding his head.
After the jury was dismissed, one of Mr. Guzmán’s lawyers, Jeffrey Lichtman, walked to him and shook his hand. They then saluted each other, bringing raised hands to foreheads. Mr. Guzman smiled at Mr. Lichtman as his attorney walked away.
Mr. Lichtman is known for securing an acquittal for John A. Gotti, son of the notorious mob boss.
In the event of a full acquittal, Mr. Guzmán could be retried in several other U.S. jurisdictions that have pending indictments against him. After his extradition from Mexico in 2017, the Brooklyn court was selected to try him first.
The deliberations have kept reporters and spectators—some of whom slept outside the courthouse on cardboard boxes to secure a seat for the verdict—waiting with heightened anxiety. A number of false alarms have already sent reporters stampeding into the courtroom.
At the start of deliberations Wednesday, another lawyer for Mr. Guzmán, Eduardo Balarezo, tweeted a photo of a bottle of tequila shaped like a gun, saying: “For after trial.”
Write to Nicole Hong at nicole.hong@wsj.com and Zolan Kanno-Youngs at Zolan.Kanno-Youngs@wsj.com
