The son of the infamous Mexican drug lord “El Chapo” is planning to plead guilty to drug trafficking charges in the United States. Ovidio Guzman Lopez, along with his brother Joaquin Guzman Lopez, is accused of leading a faction of the cartel known as the “Chapitos,” which was responsible for exporting fentanyl to the US.
Ovidio Guzman Lopez, whose father is the notorious Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, was arrested in Mexico in 2023 and extradited to the US. He faces charges of money laundering, drug trafficking, and firearm offenses in federal court in Chicago. While he initially pleaded not guilty, court documents reveal that he is scheduled to change his plea to guilty on July 9 as part of a deal with prosecutors.
This move would make Ovidio Guzman Lopez the first of the brothers to enter a plea deal. His brother, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, is also in US custody and has pleaded not guilty to charges that include money laundering, drug dealing, and conspiracy to distribute drugs. Another long-time Sinaloa cartel leader, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, was also arrested in July in Texas alongside Joaquin Guzman Lopez.
The capture of these men led to a surge in violence in Mexico’s Sinaloa state as rival factions of the Sinaloa cartel clashed. Ovidio Guzman Lopez’s attorney, Jeffrey Lichtman, and federal prosecutors have not yet commented on the upcoming plea deal.
The Guzman family’s criminal activities have long been a source of concern for law enforcement agencies on both sides of the border. With Ovidio Guzman Lopez’s decision to plead guilty, it remains to be seen how this will impact the ongoing fight against drug trafficking and organized crime in the region.
