Joaquín ‘Little Chapo’ Guzmán López, son of notorious drug lord El Chapo, has pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges in a Chicago court, months after his brother Ovidio entered a plea deal
One of the offspring of infamous Mexican drug kingpin ‘El Chapo’ has admitted guilt to drug trafficking charges. Joaquín Guzmán López entered a guilty plea on Monday to US drug trafficking charges, according to Associated Press.
His admission follows months after his sibling struck a plea agreement. Joaquín Guzmán López and brother Ovidio Guzmán López, dubbed the ‘little Chapos’ in Mexico, are alleged to have controlled a wing of the Sinaloa cartel.
In 2023, federal authorities branded the operation a colossal scheme to smuggle “staggering” amounts of fentanyl into the US, reports the Mirror.
Joaquín, 39, admitted guilt to two charges of drug trafficking and continuing criminal enterprise after confessing his part in supervising the transportation of tens of thousands of kilograms of narcotics to the US, predominantly via underground passages.
His solicitor stated that the plea agreement is anticipated to help him escape a life sentence.
Heavy security was deployed at Chicago’s federal courthouse before the hearing, during which prosecutors outlined the circumstances that led to Guzmán López’s dramatic capture alongside another veteran Sinaloa leader on American territory in July 2024.
Wearing an orange prison uniform, Guzmán López remained largely silent during Monday’s court proceedings, but when questioned at the start of the hearing about his occupation, he told District Judge Sharon Coleman: “drug trafficking”. “Oh that’s your job,” Coleman said with a chuckle.
“There you go.”
Prosecutors revealed that if Guzmán López assists the US government, his life sentence would be shortened, though he will still face a minimum of 10 years behind bars, according to Andrew Erskine, a barrister representing the federal government.
Guzmán López will be unable to challenge the sentence as part of the plea agreement. His defence solicitor, Jeffrey Lichtman, said: “The government has been very fair with Joaquín thus far. I do appreciate the fact that the Mexican government didn’t interfere.”
Guzmán López was detained in July 2024 in Texas alongside another veteran Sinaloa leader, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada after they touched down in the US on a private aircraft. Both men have previously entered not guilty pleas to numerous drug trafficking, money laundering and firearms charges.
Their stunning capture triggered a wave of violence in Mexico’s northern state of Sinaloa as two wings of the Sinaloa cartel battled. Under the plea agreement, Joaquín Guzmán López confessed to helping supervise the manufacture and trafficking of vast amounts of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, cannabis and fentanyl into the United States, feeding a crisis that has led to tens of thousands of overdose fatalities each year.
In the deal, Guzmán López also confessed to abducting an unnamed person alleged to be Zambada. Erskine outlined the supposed abduction in court, explaining that Guzmán López had the glass from a floor-to-ceiling window taken out.
Guzmán López allegedly had accomplices climb through the open window during a meeting in the room with the unnamed individual where they were captured with a bag placed over his head and bundled onto a plane. Whilst on board, he was restrained with zip ties and administered sedatives before the aircraft touched down at a New Mexico airport close to the Texas border, according to AP reports.
Erskine contended that the alleged abduction was a bid to demonstrate cooperation with the US government, which had not authorised such actions. He stated that Guzmán López would not be granted cooperation credit due to this.
Zambada’s legal representative has previously maintained that his client was “forcibly kidnapped” by Guzmán López onto the flight to the US, with Lichtman indicating he would attempt to secure a reduced sentence.
Sniffer dogs were positioned in the foyer of the city centre courthouse, checking bags and equipment. In July, Joaquin’s brother Ovidio Guzmán López became the first offspring of the drugs baron to enter a plea agreement.
He admitted guilt to drug trafficking, money laundering and firearms charges linked to his leadership position within the cartel. Legal experts viewed this plea agreement as a major breakthrough for the US government in their investigation and prosecution of Sinaloa cartel bosses.
Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán is currently serving a life sentence following his 2019 conviction for his leadership of the Sinaloa cartel, where he was held accountable for smuggling vast quantities of cocaine and other narcotics into the United States over a quarter of a century. It’s alleged that his sons have since stepped into their father’s shoes as heads of the cartel.
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