Son of Mexican drug kingpin ‘El Chapo’ pleads guilty in US drug trafficking case

Son of ‘El Chapo’ pleads guilty in US drug trafficking case

Joaquin Guzman Lopez, one of the sons of jailed Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, on Monday pleaded guilty in a US federal court in cases linked to drug trafficking and operating a continuing criminal enterprise.

The plea comes months after his brother, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, struck a similar deal with US authorities.

According to a report by the Associated Press, the two are part of the group known in Mexico as the “Chapitos,” which has been accused of directing a faction of the Sinaloa cartel responsible for the introduction of massive amounts of fentanyl into the United States.

Reports said that according to the Court documents, Joaquin Guzman Lopez acknowledged that he had helped in the supervision of the production and trafficking of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana and fentanyl into the country.

The US authorities have said that these narcotics have driven thousands of overdose deaths annually.

His attorney, Jeffrey Lichtman, praised both governments after the hearing. “The government has been very fair with Joaquin thus far,” he said, adding, “I do appreciate the fact that the Mexican government didn’t interfere.”

Guzman Lopez was arrested in July 2024 alongside senior Sinaloa figure Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada after both arrived in Texas on a private aircraft.

Their arrest had triggered violent clashes in Sinaloa state. The clashes had broken out between rival cells of the cartel. However, AP reported that the men had earlier pleaded not guilty to drug, weapons and money-laundering charges.

Ovidio Guzman Lopez, meanwhile, became the first of El Chapo’s sons to accept a plea agreement when he admitted to drug trafficking, money laundering and firearms offences in July.

Analysts described that deal as a notable advance in US efforts to prosecute leaders of the cartel.

Their father, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, is serving a life sentence following his 2019 conviction for leading the Sinaloa cartel for decades and moving enormous volumes of narcotics into the United States.

US authorities say the brothers stepped into leadership roles after his imprisonment.