US drug czar Uttam Dhillon welcomes Mexican drug kingpin Guzman's conviction

The conviction of Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman in all 10 criminal charges against him clearly demonstrates that the US will not tolerate those who bring drugs and violence into the country to destroy people's lives, America's drug czar Uttam Dhillon has said.

Guzman, 61, was found guilty on all 10 counts at his high-profile drug-trafficking trial at a federal court in New York on Tuesday.

The Mexican, famed for his brazen escapes from Mexican prisons, was accused of being behind the all-powerful Sinaloa drug cartel, which prosecutors say was the biggest supplier of drugs to the US.

He was convicted on numerous counts including the distribution of cocaine and heroin, illegal firearms possession and money laundering.

In 2009, Guzman entered Forbes' list of the world's richest men at number 701, with an estimated worth of USD 1 billion.

While Guzman will be sentenced on June 25, he faces a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole for leading a continuing criminal enterprise, and a sentence of up to life imprisonment on the remaining drug counts.

US District Judge Brian Cogan confirmed the verdicts with each of the eight women and four men on the jury, telling them later their conduct on the panel "made me very proud to be an American."