Reports have surfaced indicating that 17 relatives of the infamous drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera entered the United States as part of a confidential agreement with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Among the group who surrendered to the FBI at the border between Tijuana/San Diego were the ex-wife of the former Sinaloa drug cartel boss and their daughter, as reported by Mexico News Daily.
This surrender is said to be linked to a secret plea deal with the US government regarding the case of El Chapo’s son, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, also known as “El Raton” or “The Mouse.”
Journalist Luis Chaparro revealed on his online program, Pie de Nota, that Griselda, the daughter of Guzman, was among those who crossed into the US.
“According to information from our sources, the family turned themselves in to the FBI at the San Ysidro port of entry in Tijuana last Friday. Among the individuals were Griselda Lopez, Ovidio’s mother, several nephews and nieces, a grandson named Archivaldo, and one of Chapo’s daughters along with a son-in-law,” quoted the journalist by the Mexico News Daily.
Mr. Chaparro mentioned that the reason for the family members turning themselves in to the FBI remains unclear.
Mexican Security Secretary Omar Garcia Harfuch stated in an interview with Radio Formula that “with his family going to the United States, it’s clear that it’s connected to this negotiation or plea deal opportunity provided by the Department of Justice itself.”
Ovidio was extradited to the US in September 2023 after being apprehended in a major operation by Mexican police that resulted in 29 casualties. Lopez, aged 35, one of El Chapo’s sons, faced charges of drug trafficking, money laundering, and other offenses. His plea hearing is set for July 9.
Upon crossing the border, Griselda Lopez Perez and her relatives were found with over US$70,000 in cash. Chaparro mentioned, “This act of ensuring his family’s safety could indicate that Los Chapitos may be losing control in Sinaloa or that the situation is about to escalate.”
The details of the potential plea agreement and its relation to the family’s entry into the US have not been disclosed by US prosecutors, as per The New York Post.
The senior Guzman was arrested and extradited to the US in 2017, where he was later convicted of drug trafficking, money laundering, and other crimes, receiving a life sentence in prison.
