Son of jailed Mexican drug lord ‘El Chapo’ to plead guilty in US court

Joaquin Guzman Lopez, 1 of 4 sons of the Sinaloa cartel’s ‘El Chapo’, changes his plea to guilty, tribunal documents show.

A lad of notorious Mexican cause lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman volition plead blameworthy adjacent week successful the United States to narcotics trafficking charges, according to national tribunal documents.

Joaquin Guzman Lopez, 1 of 4 sons of the jailed Sinaloa cartel person “El Chapo”, primitively pleaded not blameworthy aft his apprehension successful July 2024 successful Texas.

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But national documents released connected Friday amusement that Guzman Lopez is to alteration his plea astatine a proceeding acceptable for Monday astatine the US District Court successful Chicago.

Another of his 3 brothers, Ovidio Guzman, arsenic portion of a plea woody struck successful speech for a reduced sentence, pleaded blameworthy successful July 2025 to conspiracy related to cause trafficking and 2 counts of participating successful the activities of a transgression enterprise.

Ovidio Guzman besides admitted that helium and his brothers, known collectively arsenic “Los Chapitos” (Little Chapos), had taken implicit their father’s operations wrong the cartel pursuing his apprehension successful 2016.

Mexican broadcaster MVS Noticias said Guzman Lopez’s blameworthy plea could mean “a caller section successful the past of cause trafficking is astir to beryllium written”.

“This determination has raised galore questions astir the imaginable ongoing negotiations betwixt him and US authorities,” the quality outlet said.

The ABC 7 Chicago quality transmission said national prosecutors person said they volition not present question the decease condemnation for Guzman Lopez, and that determination “is speech of a plea woody present successful the works”.

He is owed to look successful tribunal successful Chicago astatine 1:30pm (19:30 GMT) connected Monday.

Two different “Chapitos” brothers, Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar and Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar, person besides been indicted connected cause trafficking charges successful the US but stay astatine large.

Their 68-year-old father, “El Chapo”, is serving a beingness condemnation astatine a supermax national situation successful Colorado pursuing his apprehension and condemnation successful 2019.

Guzman Lopez was taken into custody past twelvemonth erstwhile helium arrived successful Texas connected committee a tiny backstage plane, on with the cofounder of the Sinaloa cartel, Ismael “Mayo” Zambada.

Zambada claimed to person been misled astir the destination and that helium was abducted by Guzman Lopez to beryllium handed implicit against his volition to authorities successful the US.

Following the arrest, clashes intensified betwixt 2 factions of the Sinaloa cartel, headed, respectively, by the “Los Chapitos” brothers and Zambada. The infighting led to astir 1,200 deaths successful Mexico and astir 1,400 disappearances, according to authoritative figures.

Officials successful the US impeach the Sinaloa cartel of trafficking fentanyl to the country, wherever the synthetic cause has caused tens of thousands of overdose deaths successful caller years, straining relations with Mexico.

The cartel is besides 1 of six Mexican drug-trafficking groups that US President Donald Trump has designated arsenic planetary violent organisations.

Additional sanctions against the 2 fugitive “Los Chapitos” brothers were announced by Washington successful June for fentanyl trafficking, and the reward for their seizure was accrued to $10m each.