NEW YORK-In the nationwide sweepstakes among federal jurisdictions to put Mexican drug kingpin and escape artist Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman on trial, the place currently leading the pack is far from the border: Brooklyn.
Justice Department officials in Washington still aren't commenting on the closely watched decision involving seven prosecutor's offices that have indicted Guzman on drug conspiracy and other charges over the past two decades.
But two law enforcement officials familiar with the process told The Associated Press that it's likely that if transferred from Mexican to U.S. custody in the coming months, Guzman would be sent to the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn. The two officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to publicly discuss the decision.
Brooklyn, an office once run by Attorney General Loretta Lynch, has long been rumored to be the front-runner while Guzman has been vigorously fighting extradition, an effort that could drag out indefinitely.
But wherever he ends up in United States, Guzman is certain to cause a media frenzy and present a security challenge that has bedeviled Mexican authorities.