(Chicago) One of the sons of the famous Mexican drug baron “El Chapo” guilty guilty on Friday to accusations of drug trafficking in the United States, thus becoming the first of his sons to conclude a advocacy agreement.
The prosecutors accuse Ovidio Guzman Lopez and his brother, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, of having directed a faction of the Sinaloa cartel. They were known locally as the “chapitos”, or “small chapos”, and the federal authorities said in 2023 that they led a massive operation aimed at entering fentanyl “breathtaking” quantities in the United States.
As part of the advocacy agreement, Ovidio Guzman Lopez admitted to having contributed to the supervision of production and smuggling of large quantities of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana and fentanyl in the United States, fueling a crisis that contributes to tens of thousands of overdose deaths each year.
Guzman Lopez pleaded guilty of drug trafficking, money laundering and firearms in connection with his role within the cartel. The terms of the agreement, in particular the recommendations of sentence and cooperation agreements, were not immediately disclosed.
The rumors of an agreement have been circulating for months, while negotiations progressed behind the scenes.
Jeffrey Lichtman, lawyer for the two brothers, said on Friday that he would expect the conviction of Ovidio Guzman Lopez before discussing the relevance of the agreement.
Guzman Lopez’s conviction was postponed until the end of his cooperation with the American authorities, in accordance with the Friday agreement he accepted. His chances of avoiding life imprisonment depend on the satisfaction of the authorities regarding the respect of his share of the contract.
Me Lichtman said they ignore whether the case against Joaquin Guzman Lopez could be settled by a plea agreement, stressing that it is “completely different”.
“Remember that Joaquin was arrested in the United States well after Ovidio, so it can take time,” he said.
Laurie Levenson, law professor at Loyola Law School and former assistant prosecutor in Los Angeles, noted that by pleading guilty, Guzman Lopez could have “saved other family members”.
“In this way, he has a certain control over the people about whom he cooperates and what the world will know about this cooperation. »»
Mme Levenson believes that this change of plea is a big step for the American government, arguing that Guzman Lopez could provide “a roadmap to identify the cartel members”.
“It’s a turning point,” she said. The best way for them to dismantle the cartel is to find out about its operations with an interior person, and this is what they get thanks to its cooperation. »»
Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum criticized the “lack of coherence” of American policy on Friday with regard to Mexican cartels. Among other things, she stressed the fact that the US government has declared cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, but that it is now agreeing with their leaders.
Photo Raquel Cunha, Reuters archives
The president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum
Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman purges a life imprisonment after being convicted in 2019 to have directed the Sinaloa cartel, bringing in the mountains of cocaine and other drugs in the United States for 25 years. The brothers would have resumed the role of their father at the head of the cartel.
Ovidio Guzman Lopez was arrested in Mexico in 2023 and extradited to the United States. He initially pleaded not guilty, but finally indicated his intention to return to his decision.
Joaquin Guzman Lopez and another longtime leader of Sinaloa, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, were arrested in July 2024 in Texas after their landing in the United States aboard a private plane. The two men pleaded not guilty of several charges. Their spectacular arrest caused an outbreak of violence in the state of Sinaloa, in northern Mexico, where two factions of the cartel clashed.
The journalist of the Associated Press Megan Janetsky contributed to this article from Mexico City
