Reputed drug lord Joaquin “el Chapo” Guzman pleaded not guilty in federal court here Friday to charges of running the powerful Mexico-based Sinaloa cartel.

“El Chapo” (Shorty) Guzman, who was assisted by an interpreter during the arraignment and is being held without bail at a jail in New York after being extradited to the United States from Mexico on Thursday, listened as the 17-count indictment was read to him at a federal courthouse in Brooklyn.

Asked by US Magistrate Judge James Orenstein if he understood why he was there, the defendant responded “Si señor.”

At least one of the charges against Guzman carries a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison.

The defendant, who was guarded by security agents but was not handcuffed, wore a dark blue jail uniform and black sneakers at the seven-minute arraignment.

During the appearance, one of Guzman’s court-appointed attorneys, Michael Schneider, argued that there had been irregularities in the extradition process.

Guzman was asked if he agreed to give federal prosecutors two weeks to prepare their case and he responded affirmatively. The judge has scheduled the next hearing for Feb. 3, although that date could be pushed back if a postponement is requested.

Although Guzman is wanted in six US states, he will be prosecuted in a joint Miami-New York indictment in Brooklyn, prosecutors said Friday in a press conference.

Guzman is being charged, among other things, with operating a continuing criminal enterprise – the Sinaloa drug cartel – from 1989 to 2014, Robert Capers, the US attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said.

That criminal organization rose to become one of the main sources of illicit drugs entering the United States.

Guzman, who has been described in varying accounts by the Mexican government as being born in either 1954 or 1957, amassed substantial wealth that led to his name regularly appearing on Forbes magazine’s list of global billionaires.

He also is known for twice breaking out of prison in his homeland. EFE