NEW YORK _ After months of speculation, Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera confirmed Monday he will not take the stand in his trial.
"My lawyers and I have spoken, and I am going to reserve," Guzman told the court. "I am not going to testify."
U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan asked Guzman whether he had come to the decision himself.
"My lawyers have counseled me, and I agree with them," he said.
Nearing the end of the day's proceedings, following 11 weeks of testimony presented by 56 witnesses, federal prosecutors rested their colossal case against the notorious drug trafficker.
"The government rests, your honor," Assistant U.S. Attorney Gina Parlovecchio told the court.
Guzman has been on trial in federal court in Brooklyn where he stands accused of leading the notorious Sinaloa Cartel, drug trafficking, money laundering, murder conspiracy and a host of other related charges.
If convicted of the top count, leading a continuing criminal enterprise, he faces life in prison.
