Latest news with #OvidioGuzmánLópez
Daily Mail
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Mexico set to be torn apart as drug kingpin El Chapo's son prepares to tell US prosecutors 'everything he knows'
One of the world's most notorious drug cartel leaders could very well destabilize the Mexico government as he plans to reveal all he knows about corrupt officials. Joaquín ' El Chapo ' Guzmán's son, Ovidio Guzmán López pleaded guilty to two counts of drug conspiracy and two counts of knowingly engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise before a federal judge in Chicago last Friday. The 35-year-old jailed boss, who oversaw the Sinaloa Cartel's 'Los Chapitos' faction, agreed to cooperate with prosecutors who have accused him of distributing drugs and running a criminal enterprise. New York and Illinois federal prosecutors alleged that Guzmán López and his three brothers assumed control of the Sinaloa Cartel once El Chapo was arrested in Mexico in 2016 and then extradited in 2019 to the United States, where he is serving a life sentence at a Colorado super maximum-security prison. The indictments indicated that the transnational drug trafficking organization made hundreds of millions by shipping, producing, and trafficking fentanyl to the United States. Now Guzmán López's mea-culpa could very well open a Pandora's box into the Sinaloa Cartel's dealings with former and current law enforcement and government officials back home in Mexico. His high-profile lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman slammed the Mexican government while talking to reporters after leaving the courtroom. 'It's not so much of a surprise that somehow, for 40 years, the Mexican government, Mexican law enforcement, did nothing to capture who was probably the biggest drug dealer, perhaps in the history of the world,' he said. Lichtman was referring to Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada, who co-founded the cartel with El Chapo and had never been arrested until El Chapo's also jailed son, Joaquín Guzmán López, set him up and flew him across the border to Texas, where he turned himself in and El Mayo was captured. 'So what I would say to Pres. Sheinbaum is: perhaps she should look to her predecessors in the president's office and try to figure out why that happened, why there was never any effort to arrest,' the famous criminal lawyer said. 'I don't even know if Zambada has been charged in Mexico.' In an X post on Friday night, Lichtman appeared to take another swipe at Sheinbaum for reportedly shielding criminal organizations. 'Apparently the president of Mexico is displeased with my truthful comments about her corrupt office and government,' Lichtman wrote. 'She can call as many hastily convened press conferences as she likes, but the people of Mexico (and myself) know that she acts more as the public relations arm of a drug trafficking organization than as the honest leader that the Mexican people deserve. I'll have more to say on this shortly.' The war of words spilled over to Tuesday when Sheinbaum filed a defamation law suit against Lichtman. 'I'm not going to establish a dialogue with a lawyer for [a] narco-trafficker,' Sheinbaum said during a press conference. Iván Guzmán Salazar (pictured), is one of El Chapo's sons now leading one-half of the Sinaloa Cartel. The DEA is offering a $10 million reward for information leading to his arrest and/or conviction The Drug Enforcement Administration is offering a $10 million reward for information that leads to the arrest and/or conviction of Jesús Guzmán Salazar El Chapo's two other sons, Iván Archivaldo and Jesús Alfredo Guzmán, who are both wanted by the United States government, have hired Lichtman, who has over three decades of experience as a lawyer. Retired Drug Enforcement Administration agent and chief of operations Ray Donovan told that Ovidio's and Joaquín's cooperation could allow for the Mexican government to reorganize itself. 'I think with the potential that Ovidio, Joaquin and others provide information on corrupt politicians and corrupt officials, is an opportunity for Mexico to reset and Sheinbaum is the president to do that,' said Donovan, who took down El Chapo 'So, you can look at it like this is very good, very bad for her party or you can look at it as, "I'm in control now, we want to be strong partners and we want to take Mexico forward not backwards."' 'This is an opportunity for her to do that. Now, the actions she has taken I think have been substantial. And clearly she is very astute, she is different from other presidents, he added. 'The good news about Claudia Sheinbaum, besides the fact that she is highly intelligent, I think that the corruption piece that often surrounds politicians, she doesn't have that. 'So, this is an opportunity to really take Mexico forward under her leadership and partnership with the United States. Regardless of if charges were to come out against politicians, she's taking concrete action forward and I think it's going to be great. I see her as a really, influential leader in the Western Hemisphere. It's not a bad thing.' Ovidio Guzmán López's decision to accept responsibility for his wrongdoing in court last Friday came just two months after 17 family members, including his mother, sister, wife and children, were met by U.S. federal agents at the San Ysidro Port of Entry in San Diego and brought across the border. The fact that his brother was able to lure El Mayo made cooperating with the U.S. government easier.
The Guardian
11-07-2025
- The Guardian
Son of El Chapo pleads guilty in US drug trafficking case
A son of notorious Mexican drug kingpin 'El Chapo' pleaded guilty on Friday to US drug-trafficking charges, becoming the first of the drug lord's sons to enter a plea deal. Prosecutors allege Ovidio Guzmán López and his brother, Joaquín Guzmán López, ran a faction of the Sinaloa cartel. They became known locally as the 'Chapitos', or 'little Chapos', and federal authorities in 2023 described the operation as a major effort to send 'staggering' quantities of fentanyl into the US. As part of a plea agreement, Ovidio Guzmán López admitted to helping oversee the production and smuggling of large quantities of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana and fentanyl into the United States, fueling a crisis that has contributed to tens of thousands of overdose deaths annually. Ovidio Guzmán López pleaded guilty to drug trafficking, money laundering and firearms charges tied to his leadership role in the cartel. Terms of the deal, including sentencing recommendations or cooperation agreements, were not immediately disclosed. Speculation about a deal had percolated for months, as behind-the-scenes negotiations quietly progressed. Jeffrey Lichtman, an attorney for the two brothers, said on Friday he would wait until Ovidio Guzmán López was sentenced before discussing whether the agreement was a good deal. Ovidio Guzmán López's sentencing was postponed while he cooperates with US authorities, as he agreed to do on Friday. Whether he avoids a life in prison sentence depends on whether authorities say he has held up his end of the agreement. Lichtman said he did not know whether the case against Joaquín Guzmán López could be resolved with a plea deal, noting that it was 'completely different'. 'Remember, Joaquín was arrested in America well after Ovidio was, so it takes time,' he said. Laurie Levenson, a law professor at Loyola Law School and former assistant US attorney in Los Angeles, said that Ovidio Guzmán López, by pleading guilty, may have 'saved other family members'. 'In this way, he has some control over who he's cooperating against and what the world will know about that cooperation.' Levenson called the plea change a 'big step' for the US. government and said Ovidio Guzmán López could provide 'a roadmap of how to identify members of the cartel'. 'This is big,' she said. 'The best way for them to take out the cartel is to find out about its operations from an insider, and that's what they get from his cooperation.' The Mexican president, Claudia Sheinbaum, on Friday criticized the 'lack of coherence' in American policy toward Mexican cartels, highlighting the disparity between the US government declaring cartels foreign terrorist organizations, but also striking plea deals with their leaders. Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán is serving a life sentence after being convicted in 2019 for his role as the former leader of the Sinaloa cartel, having smuggled mountains of cocaine and other drugs into the United States over 25 years. The brothers allegedly assumed their father's former leadership role in the cartel. Ovidio Guzmán López was arrested in Mexico in 2023 and extradited to the United States. He initially pleaded not guilty but had signaled in recent months his intent to change his plea. Joaquín Guzmán López and another longtime Sinaloa leader, Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada, were arrested in July 2024 in Texas after they landed in the US on a private plane. Both men have pleaded not guilty to multiple charges. Their dramatic capture prompted a surge in violence in Mexico's northern state of Sinaloa as two factions of the Sinaloa cartel clashed.
The Guardian
11-07-2025
- The Guardian
Son of El Chapo pleads guilty in US drug trafficking case
A son of notorious Mexican drug kingpin 'El Chapo' pleaded guilty Friday to US drug trafficking charges, becoming the first of the drug lord's sons to enter a plea deal. Prosecutors allege Ovidio Guzmán López and his brother, Joaquín Guzmán López, ran a faction of the Sinaloa cartel. They became known locally as the 'Chapitos', or 'little Chapos', and federal authorities in 2023 described the operation as a major effort to send 'staggering' quantities of fentanyl into the US. As part of a plea agreement, Ovidio Guzmán López admitted to helping oversee the production and smuggling of large quantities of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana and fentanyl into the United States, fueling a crisis that has contributed to tens of thousands of overdose deaths annually. Guzmán López pleaded guilty to drug trafficking, money laundering and firearms charges tied to his leadership role in the cartel. Terms of the deal, including sentencing recommendations or cooperation agreements, were not immediately disclosed. Speculation about a deal had percolated for months, as behind-the-scenes negotiations quietly progressed. Jeffrey Lichtman, an attorney for the two brothers, said Friday he would wait until Ovidio Guzmán López was sentenced before discussing whether the agreement was a good deal. Guzmán López's sentencing was postponed while he cooperates with US authorities, as he agreed to do so on Friday. Whether he avoids a life in prison sentence depends on whether authorities say he has held up his end of the agreement. Lichtman said he didn't know whether the case against Joaquin Guzman Lopez could be resolved with a plea deal, noting that it is 'completely different'. 'Remember, Joaquín was arrested in America well after Ovidio was, so it takes time,' he said. Laurie Levenson, a law professor at Loyola Law School and former assistant US attorney in Los Angeles, said that Guzmán López, by pleading guilty, may have 'saved other family members'. 'In this way, he has some control over who he's cooperating against and what the world will know about that cooperation.' Levenson called the plea change a 'big step' for the US. government and said Guzmán López could provide 'a roadmap of how to identify members of the cartel'. 'This is big,' she said. 'The best way for them to take out the cartel is to find out about its operations from an insider, and that's what they get from his cooperation.' Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum on Friday criticized the 'lack of coherence' in American policy toward Mexican cartels, highlighting the disparity between the US government declaring cartels foreign terrorist organizations, but also striking plea deals with their leaders. Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán is serving a life sentence after being convicted in 2019 for his role as the former leader of the Sinaloa cartel, having smuggled mountains of cocaine and other drugs into the United States over 25 years. The brothers allegedly assumed their father's former role as leaders of the cartel. Ovidio Guzmán López was arrested in Mexico in 2023 and extradited to the United States. He initially pleaded not guilty but had signaled in recent months his intent to change his plea. Joaquín Guzmán López and another longtime Sinaloa leader, Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada, were arrested in July 2024 in Texas after they landed in the US on a private plane. Both men have pleaded not guilty to multiple charges. Their dramatic capture prompted a surge in violence in Mexico's northern state of Sinaloa as two factions of the Sinaloa cartel clashed.
New York Times
11-07-2025
- New York Times
Son of El Chapo Pleads Guilty to Sweeping Drug Charges
Ovidio Guzmán López, a son of the notorious Mexican crime lord known as El Chapo, pleaded guilty on Friday to sprawling federal drug charges and using violence to help take control of his father's criminal empire. Mr. Guzmán López was the first of El Chapo's four sons to admit guilt in an American courtroom. His plea came at a vulnerable moment for the Sinaloa drug cartel, the organization his father helped to found. The group is under such pressure in Mexico from the government and its adversaries that it recently formed a strategic alliance with a rival drug gang. At a heavily guarded hearing in Federal District Court in Chicago, Mr. Guzmán López, wearing an orange jumpsuit, acknowledged having taken part in a sweeping drug conspiracy and a continuing criminal enterprise. He also admitted to playing a role in three murders in Mexico and Arizona. As part of his plea deal with the government, he has agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors, though it remains unclear what information he has provided the authorities. Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman, who is overseeing his case, did not set a date for Mr. Guzmán López to be sentenced. While some of the charges he pleaded guilty to technically carry a life sentence, his lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman, said he was unlikely to be punished with life in prison. The charges Mr. Guzmán López acknowledged came from two separate indictments, one filed in Chicago and the other in New York. Mr. Guzmán López's full brother, Joaquín Guzmán López, is also in custody in Chicago and is trying to negotiate his own plea deal. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Cedar News
11-07-2025
- Cedar News
Ovidio Guzmán López, Son of ‘El Chapo', Pleads Guilty to U.S. Drug Trafficking Charges in Chicago
CHICAGO — Ovidio Guzmán López, the son of notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán, has pleaded guilty to U.S. drug trafficking charges, according to the Associated Press. The plea was entered in a federal court in Chicago, where prosecutors have accused Guzmán López of playing a key role in the Sinaloa cartel's drug smuggling operations, particularly the distribution of massive quantities of fentanyl and other narcotics into the United States. Guzmán López, also known as 'El Ratón,' was extradited to the U.S. in September 2023 after being captured by Mexican authorities in a high-profile operation earlier that year. His arrest had sparked violent clashes in Sinaloa and marked a major victory in U.S.-Mexico anti-narcotics cooperation. He now faces a potential lengthy prison sentence as part of a broader U.S. crackdown on the leadership of the Sinaloa cartel, which was once headed by his father, currently serving a life sentence in a U.S. federal supermax prison.
