El Chapo lawyer calls prosecution's case a scripted performance by 'lifelong liars'

On the 38th day of the sensational New York trial of a man long considered to be the world's biggest trafficker, defense attorney Jeffrey Lichtman delivered a closing argument laced with humor and sarcasm. He called into question the credibility of a parade of cooperating witnesses who "lied every day of their lives -- their miserable, selfish lives."

"Many lied while cooperating," he said. "Many lied in this courtroom."

His closing comes one day after a federal prosecutor walked jurors through the mountain of evidence presented to them since the drug conspiracy trial began in November. For dramatic effect, she stacked nearly 10 cardboard boxes with the markings of the US Drug Enforcement Administration atop a plastic bag on the floor of the federal courtroom in Brooklyn.

But Lichtman dismissed the government's case as a "scripted event" and "a play" featuring 14 cooperating witnesses -- mostly traffickers and cartel associates. He accused them of habitually lying in exchange for favorable treatment, including visas for family members to enter the United States. Some collected money for living expenses, while others stand to get recommendations for more lenient sentences, he said.

The defense attorney pointed to the recent testimony of fellow trafficker Alex Cifuentes, who was a secretary for Guzmán and spent two years living with him in the mountains of El Chapo's home state of Sinaloa.

"You lied about Mr. Guzmán didn't you?" Lichtman asked, rereading from testimony in which the witness admitted to lying to associates, family members and government officials.

"No sir," Cifuentes said.

"He's the only person you didn't lie about?"

"Yes sir."

Lichtman also returned to a theory first introduced during opening statements 2½ months ago: The Sinaloa Cartel is led by Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada. Lichtman argued that Zambada, an associate of Guzmán's, bribed the Mexican government to frame El Chapo and remain free to run the cartel.

Guzmán has been either in prison or in hiding -- "never living freely" -- since 1993, Lichtman said.

"You know who, for 20 years, has been free? Mayo Zambada," the defense lawyer said.

Lichtman recounted the testimony of Zambada's son, Vicente, who was asked what his father did for a living.

"My dad is the Sinaloa Cartel's leader," the son replied.

On Wednesday, federal prosecutor Andrea Goldbarg told jurors in closing that El Chapo for 25 years headed a global narcotics empire greased for decades with corruption and violence.

She reminded jurors of a number of murder conspiracies allegedly involving Guzmán, particularly the testimony of his onetime mistress, former Mexican lawmaker Lucero Sanchez.

Goldbarg read from Sanchez's testimony about the day Guzmán learned of the slaying of his cousin, Juan "Juancho" Guzmán. She quoted the defendant telling his lover that "whoever betrayed him was going to die regardless if they were family or women. If people ratted him out, they were going to die."

Goldbarg insisted that most of the accounts of the cooperating witnesses lined up.

"Some of these cooperating witnesses don't even know each other, and those who do haven't seen each other in years," she said.

"Who travels in an armored car?" Goldbarg asked. "Who has a rotating staff of cooks and secretaries? Who has an escape tunnel built directly into the tub of his bathroom? Who has an army of people to protect them from enemies and who has enemies that they need an army to protect them from? Who has diamond-encrusted pistols? A boss of the Sinaloa Cartel does these things."

Guzmán faces a range of charges, including international drug trafficking, conspiring to murder rivals, gun charges and money laundering. He has pleaded not guilty.

Juror deliberations likely will begin Monday.

CNN's Maria Santana contributed to this report.

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