El Chapo's Son Joaquin Guzman Lopez Pleads Guilty in Major US Drug Trafficking Case

Joaquin Guzman Lopez was arrested in Texas during July 2024.

One of infamous Mexican drug lord "El Chapo's" sons entered a guilty plea Monday on United States drug trafficking charges, several months following his brother's plea agreement.

Referred to in Mexico as the "Chapitos" or "little Chapos," Joaquin Guzman Lopez and his sibling Ovidio Guzman Lopez are accused of operating a section of the Sinaloa cartel. In 2023, federal authorities characterized their operation as an extensive enterprise sending "staggering" volumes of fentanyl into American territory.

Joaquin Guzman Lopez admitted guilt to two charges: drug trafficking and continuing criminal enterprise.

He and another long-standing Sinaloa leader, Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, were apprehended in July 2024 in Texas after arriving in the United States via private aircraft. Previously, both individuals had pleaded not guilty to various charges including drug trafficking, money laundering, and firearms violations. Their dramatic capture triggered intensified violence in Mexico's northern Sinaloa state as rival factions within the Sinaloa cartel clashed.

Under his plea agreement, Joaquin Guzman Lopez acknowledged his role in supervising the production and smuggling of substantial quantities of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana, and fentanyl into the United States, contributing to a crisis responsible for tens of thousands of annual overdose fatalities.

In July, Ovidio Guzman Lopez became the first of drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's sons to enter a plea arrangement. He pleaded guilty to drug trafficking, money laundering, and firearms charges connected to his leadership position within the cartel. Legal analysts described this plea agreement as a significant achievement for the U.S. government in their ongoing investigation and prosecution of Sinaloa cartel leadership.

Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman is currently serving a life sentence following his 2019 conviction for his role as the former leader of the Sinaloa cartel, having smuggled enormous quantities of cocaine and other narcotics into the United States over a 25-year period. His sons allegedly assumed their father's previous position as cartel leaders.