The son of infamous Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman pleaded guilty to federal drug trafficking prices Friday at a listening to in Chicago.
Prosecutors allege Ovidio Guzman Lopez, alongside together with his brother Joaquin Guzman Lopez, ran a faction of the cartel often known as “Los Chapitos,” or “little Chapos.” As a part of his plea deal, Ovidio Guzman Lopez admitted to overseeing a significant fentanyl trafficking operation that funneled what prosecutors described as a “staggering” quantity of the artificial opioid into america.
Los Chapitos and their cartel associates have allegedly used corkscrews, electrocution and scorching chiles to torture their rivals, whereas a few of their victims have been “fed useless or alive to tigers,” in accordance with a 2023 U.S. indictment.
Sporting an orange jumpsuit and utilizing headphones and an interpreter for translation, Guzman Lopez pleaded responsible Friday to 4 of essentially the most critical prices in opposition to him; two counts of drug conspiracy and two counts of knowingly participating in a seamless felony enterprise, prices filed in indictments in federal court docket in Chicago and New York.
He had confronted as much as life in jail, however how a lot he really will get at sentencing will rely on his cooperation with federal authorities.
Guzman Lopez should cooperate with and supply “substantial help” to the federal government to finish the phrases of his plea settlement, the choose mentioned. If the federal government signifies he has offered adequate assist, then the choose will alter her sentencing suggestions to lower than life in jail.
“Solely after the federal government is glad that he is telling the reality and will be helpful does he turn into a cooperating witness and a cooperating defendant,” CBS Information Chicago authorized analyst Irv Miller mentioned.
The choose repeatedly reminded Guzman Lopez in court docket that the federal government has sole discretion on whether or not he has helped sufficient, and that she maintains sole discretion on his eventual sentence. He additionally agreed to forfeit $80 million in property and different property to the federal government as a part of his plea deal.
As a part of his plea deal, Guzman Lopez might need to share intimate particulars about his household’s position in smuggling medication throughout the U.S.-Mexico border, presumably together with testifying in opposition to one in every of his brothers who continues to be awaiting trial.
“Not solely his personal brother, however different family which will or might not be charged already,” Miller mentioned. “Many are in all probability not been charged but, and I believe there’s lots of people on the market that, after they hear about what occurred immediately, they will be very cautious as to who they discuss to and what they do, as a result of some authorities official or police officer could also be knocking at their door within the close to future.”
The choose scheduled his subsequent listening to for six months from now, at which level she is going to seemingly set a proper sentencing date for Guzman Lopez.
His legal professional, Jeffrey Lichtman, declined to say why his shopper determined to vary his plea to responsible.
“You will need to ask him. That is his determination between he and me, and I am not going to clearly discuss any privileged conversations,” Lichtman mentioned.
Guzman Lopez’s determination to vary his plea appears like a win for some, together with Michael Gannon, a former assistant particular agent in cost for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
“It instantly makes me take into consideration the affect, in a horrible manner, that he had on so many households that misplaced family members due to the fentanyl poisoning. And it is a man that was chargeable for manufacturing tens of thousands and thousands of fentanyl tablets that simply have been flooded into america,” he mentioned.
Guzman Lopez’s father, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, is at the moment serving a life sentence in a U.S. federal jail following a 2019 conviction. After El Chapo’s seize, Guzman Lopez and his siblings reportedly took on key management roles throughout the cartel.
Guzman Lopez was arrested by Mexican authorities in early 2023 and extradited to the U.S. months later. He initially pleaded not responsible to drug trafficking, cash laundering and firearms prices.
His brother, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, and longtime cartel chief Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada have been arrested in Texas in 2024 after arriving on a non-public aircraft. Each males have pleaded not responsible to a number of prices. Their high-profile seize set off a wave of violence throughout Sinaloa as rival factions scrambled for management.
Please observe: The above video is from an earlier report.
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