Ovidio Guzmán López, the son and deputy of his notorious father drug warlord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, pleaded guilty to multiple charges. These charges are often for drug trafficking, money laundering, and firearm-related offenses. He made his plea in a United States district court. It’s a major blow in the long campaign to take down the Sinaloa cartel, which for decades has moved enormous amounts of illegal drugs across our southern border.
At first Guzmán López had entered a not guilty plea to the charges. Yet, in the past few months, he showed a surprising openness to pleading guilty. He pleaded guilty to managing the importation and trafficking of millions of doses of cocaine, heroin, meth, marijuana and fentanyl. This admission was included in a plea agreement. His cooperation might help U.S. authorities target other cartel foot soldiers and enterprises.
Guzmán López, who was arrested in Mexico earlier this year and then extradited to the United States. Federal prosecutors have charged him and his brother, Joaquín Guzmán López, with running a faction of the Sinaloa cartel. This faction of the Sinaloa Cartel is referred to as the “Chapitos,” or “little Chapos.” This group is largely responsible for how large quantities of fentanyl are flooding into the U.S. Their actions are actively harming the efforts to address our current opioid crisis.
Laurie Levenson, a criminal procedure expert, law professor and faculty at Loyola Law School explained what Guzmán López’s plea means. She said that it would have “protected other family members” from facing serious criminal charges.
“This is big,” – Laurie Levenson
Furthermore, Levenson underlined that Guzmán López’s willingness to collaborate provides new information to authorities on cartel activities.
“The best way for them to take out the cartel is to find out about its operations from an insider, and that’s what they get from his cooperation,” – Laurie Levenson
The plea agreement arrives during a period of unprecedented and devastating U.S. law enforcement escalation against OTPs and other drug trafficking organizations. The U.S. federal government sees Guzmán López’s collaboration as a possible “roadmap” for finding and prosecuting other cartel members and their operations.
Sentencing for Guzmán López has been delayed as he provides further assistance to U.S. authorities. His attorney, Jeffrey Lichtman, indicated that he would refrain from commenting on the merits of the plea deal until after sentencing.
“In this way, he has some control over who he’s cooperating against and what the world will know about that cooperation,” – Laurie Levenson
In July 2024, U.S. authorities arrested Joaquín Guzmán López in Texas. This arrest compounded the legal challenges the Guzmán family was already encountering. Ovidio Guzmán López has recently pled guilty and agreed to cooperate with U.S. authorities. This is an extremely important moment in the ongoing battle to break up one of the world’s most notorious drug cartels.