The son of notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman pled guilty to drug trafficking charges in the U.S., according to court documents filed earlier in July.
Prosecutors allege Ovidio Guzman Lopez, along with his brother Joaquin Guzman Lopez, ran a faction of the cartel known as “Los Chapitos,” or “little Chapos,” is accused of overseeing a major fentanyl trafficking operation that funneled what prosecutors described as a “staggering” amount of the synthetic opioid into the United States.
Los Chapitos and their cartel associates have allegedly used corkscrews, electrocution and hot chiles to torture their rivals, while some of their victims were “fed dead or alive to tigers,” according to a 2023 U.S. indictment.
Guzman Lopez and his attorneys filed the signed plea agreement, and the court accepted it, making him the first of of El Chapo’s sons strike such an agreement with federal prosecutors.
In the agreement, Guzman Lopez pleaded guilty on four counts on two indictments; drug trafficking conspiracy and engaging in continuing criminal enterprise as a principal in the indictment filed in the Northern District of Illinois, and engaging in continued criminal enterprise as a manager and international drug trafficking conspiracy in the indictment filed in the Southern District of New York.
Ovidio Guzman Lopez must cooperate with and provide “substantial assistance” to the government to complete the terms of his plea agreement, the judge said. If the government indicates he has provided sufficient help, then the judge will adjust her sentencing recommendations to less than life in prison.
The judge repeatedly reminded Guzman Lopez in court the government has sole discretion on whether he has helped enough, and that she maintains sole discretion on his eventual sentence.
The judge scheduled his next hearing for six months from now, at which point she will likely set a formal sentencing date for Guzman Lopez.
Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, is currently serving a life sentence in a U.S. federal prison following a 2019 conviction. After his capture, Ovidio Guzman Lopez and his siblings reportedly took on key leadership roles within the cartel.
Ovidio Guzman Lopez was arrested by Mexican authorities in early 2023 and extradited to the U.S. months later. He originally pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking, money laundering and firearms charges.
His brother, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, and longtime cartel leader Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada were arrested in Texas in 2024 after arriving on a private plane. Their high-profile capture set off a wave of violence across Sinaloa as rival factions scrambled for control.
Both men have pleaded not guilty to multiple charges.
Please note: The above video is from an earlier report.
The Associated Press
contributed to this report.
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