FACT CHECK: Meme Claims El Chapo Testified That He Gave Money To Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi And Adam Schiff
An image shared on Facebook claims that Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán testified in court that he gave millions of dollars to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Verdict: False
Guzmán did not testify at any point during his trial. There is no mention of the three U.S. politicians in testimony from his sentencing trial either.
Fact Check:
Known by the nickname “El Chapo,” Guzmán is the former head of the Sinaloa cartel, widely considered one of the world’s most powerful drug-trafficking organizations.
He was convicted on 10 counts related to federal drug offenses in February, following extradition to the U.S. and a lengthy trial, reports The Associated Press. The Facebook post, which likely stems from another post that garnered more than 30,000 shares, claims that Guzmán testified in court that he gave millions of dollars to Clinton, Pelosi and Schiff.
The drug kingpin, however, never testified that he made payments to U.S. politicians.
In fact, Guzmán didn’t take the stand at any point in his three-month trial. He was listed as a potential witness for the defense but never actually testified, according to reports from numerous media outlets. His defense team only called one witness, and it was an FBI agent, not Guzmán.
Colombian drug lord Alex Cifuentes Villa testified that Guzmán’s cartel bribed numerous Mexican officials, including former Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, but there is no mention of the three U.S. politicians’ names at any point.
A search for Pelosi, Schiff and Clinton’s names in the transcript of his July sentencing hearing also yielded no instances.