Cousin of 'El Chapo' gets 16 years in prison

A cousin of one of the world’s most notorious drug lords who prosecutors say was working to distribute cocaine in the United States has been sentenced in a New Hampshire court to 16 years in federal prison.

Manuel Jesús Gutiérrez Guzmán, cousin of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, was sentenced Friday.

He pleaded guilty in October to his role in a conspiracy to expand the reach of his cousin’s drug empire into New England by distributing 1,000 or more kilograms of cocaine and other drugs.

He was arrested in Spain in 2012.

During meetings with undercover agents, including in Portsmouth and New Castle, the 54-year-old Gutiérrez Guzmán said he was a direct representative of his cousin.

"El Chapo," who led the violent Sinaloa drug cartel in Mexico, escaped from a maximum security prison there on July 11.