Post by : Meena Ariff

Joaquín Guzmán López, son of the notorious drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, is anticipated to enter a guilty plea next week in a federal court in the United States regarding narcotics charges. This announcement comes from recently filed legal documents.

After his arrest in Texas in July 2024, Guzmán López initially pleaded not guilty. However, new court filings reveal that he is set to change his plea during a hearing scheduled for Monday before a federal judge in Chicago.

His brother, Ovidio Guzmán, previously accepted guilt in July 2025 as part of a plea deal, which reduced his sentence. His plea dealt with drug trafficking and organized crime, and he admitted that he and his brothers, known as “Los Chapitos,” took over their father's operations after El Chapo’s arrest in 2016.

Mexican media sources suggest that Guzmán López's anticipated plea could significantly impact ongoing cartel prosecutions, possibly hinting at collaboration with U.S. authorities. Prosecutors reportedly no longer aim for the death penalty, indicating a possible broader agreement.

Guzmán López is expected to appear in federal court in Chicago at 1:30 p.m. on Monday.

Additionally, his brothers, Iván Archivaldo and Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar, are managing U.S. drug trafficking charges but remain at large.

Their father, currently 68 years old, is serving a life sentence in Colorado's maximum-security prison following his 2019 conviction.

Guzmán López's apprehension came after his arrival in Texas via a private flight with Ismael “Mayo” Zambada, a co-founder of the Sinaloa cartel. Zambada claimed he was misled about the flight's destination and forcibly handed over to U.S. authorities.

Following the arrests, violence among factions linked to Los Chapitos and Zambada escalated, leading to approximately 1,200 fatalities and around 1,400 missing persons across Mexico per official data.

U.S. officials accuse the Sinaloa cartel of exacerbating the fentanyl crisis by illegally trafficking large amounts of the synthetic opioid into the nation, causing strain in bilateral relations. This cartel, among several Mexican trafficking groups, has been labeled as global terrorist entities by the U.S. government.

In June, the U.S. government enacted further sanctions on the two fugitive Chapitos brothers, increasing the bounty for information on their capture to $10 million each.

#Global News