DEAL

Son of ‘El Chapo’ Pleads Guilty to Drug Trafficking And Other Crimes

Terms of the deal between the former Sinaloa cartel leader and the government weren’t disclosed.

Ovidio Guzmán López pleaded guilty Friday in Chicago to drug trafficking, money laundering and firearms charges related to his role in the Sinaloa cartel. The terms of the plea agreement were not disclosed. López is one of the sons of Mexican former drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, who is serving a life sentence in a Colorado supermax prison. López, 35, admitted to producing and smuggling massive amounts of cocaine, heroin, meth, marijuana and fentanyl into the U.S. He was arrested in Mexico and extradited in 2023. In May, reports that several of López’s family members had been escorted into the U.S. prompted Mexico’s security chief to confirm that it was part of a “negotiation” between his lawyers and the U.S. government. At the time, court papers indicated López was planning to walk back his not guilty plea, leading some to speculate that a cooperation agreement was in play, with his relatives potentially being protected in exchange for his testimony for the government. López’s older brother, Joaquín Guzmán López, was arrested in Texas last July and is reportedly considering a plea deal also. The Trump administration has designated the Sinaloa cartel a foreign terrorist organization.