FILE PHOTO: Mexico's Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodriguez gives news of the detention of drug traffickers Joaquin Guzman Lopez, El Chapo Guzman's son, and Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, as she stands next to Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, during a press conference at the National Palace, in Mexico City, Mexico July 26, 2024. REUTERS/Henry Romero/File Photo
Joaquin Guzman Lopez, the son of infamous Mexican drug lord "El Chapo," has pleaded guilty to federal drug trafficking charges in Chicago, CNN reported on Monday.
"Known locally in Mexico as the 'Chapitos,' or 'little Chapos,' Joaquin Guzman Lopez and his brother, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, are accused of running a faction of the Sinaloa cartel. Federal authorities in 2023 described the operation as a massive effort to send 'staggering' quantities of fentanyl into the US," said the report.
"Both men have previously pleaded not guilty to various drug trafficking, money laundering and firearms charges. Their dramatic capture prompted a surge in violence in Mexico’s northern state of Sinaloa as two factions of the Sinaloa cartel clashed," noted the report. "As part of the plea deal, Joaquin Guzman Lopez admitted to helping oversee the production and smuggling of large quantities of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana and fentanyl into the United States, fueling a crisis that has contributed to tens of thousands of overdose deaths annually."
The elder Guzman has escaped prison in the past, but was caught after a six-month stint on the run, after a series of events that involved his infatuation with an actress.
This comes amid intense controversy over U.S. drug policy. The U.S. military has faced accusations of war crimes for firing on survivors of wrecked ships that the Trump administration maintained are drug-running vessels. At the same time, Trump issued a pardon for a foreign ex-head of state convicted of an extensive drug-running operation into the United States.