Two sons of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzman, one of the most beautiful in Mexico notorious cartel leaders, are in plea negotiations with the U.S. government on sweeping drug-trafficking charges, lawyers said Tuesday.
Joaquin Guzmán López, 38, recently began plea negotiations with federal prosecutors, attorneys in A courtroom in Chicago. His brother, Ovidio Guzmán López, 34, began plea negotiations in October, lawyers said at the time.
Both brothers initially pleaded not guilty, and neither appeared at a brief hearing Tuesday.
“We need a little more time,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Erskine said in court. “We are trying to explore whether there can be a global solution.”
This image provided by the US State Department shows Joaquín Guzmán López after he was arrested by US authorities in Texas. (State Department via AP file)
He did not give details in court, and afterwards he refused to speak to the press.
In this photo, Mexican authorities detain Ovidio Guzman Lopez in Culiacan, Mexico, on October 17, 2019. (CEPROPIE via AP file)
In recent years, the brothers have led a faction of Mexico’s notorious Sinaloa cartel known as the “Chapitos,” or little Chapos, who have been identified as the main exporter of fentanyl in the USA
In 2023, federal prosecutors unsealed sweeping indictments against dozens of cartel members, including the brothers, in an investigation into fentanyl trafficking.
An undated police photo shows Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, the longtime leader of the Sinaloa cartel. (Procuraduria General de la Republica/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo)
In July, US authorities in Texas arrested Joaquin Guzmán López in a dramatic capture of s Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, the longtime leader of the Sinaloa cartel.
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Zambada claimed that Joaquin Guzmán López kidnapped him and flew him on a private plane to the US, where Joaquin Guzmán López turned himself in to authorities.
The FBI claims that Zambada and Joaquin Guzmán López oversaw the trafficking of “tens of thousands of pounds of drugs into the United States, along with associated violence.” Zambada is due in court in New York next week.
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Ovidio Guzmán López is scheduled to appear in court on February 27. Joaquin Guzmán López’s next trial is March 19.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
