On Tuesday, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, the son of the former Sinaloa drug cartel leader El Chapo, entered a plea of not guilty to numerous charges linked to one of the largest illicit narcotics operations globally, revealed prosecutors.
Guadalupe was apprehended in Texas as part of an alleged plot orchestrated by Washington, excluding Mexican involvement.
Following his detention, the judge denied bail, ordered Guadalupe to remain in custody, and scheduled a case management hearing for September 30, as stated by the assistant US Attorney’s office to AFP.
Various details regarding the arrest, including the involvement of Ismael Zambada Garcia, also taken into custody in the US, remain unclear.
Zambada has also pleaded not guilty and is in custody.
According to reports from US law enforcement, Zambada was reportedly unknowingly lured over the border by Guadalupe, one of El Chapo’s four sons.
Brought up in a US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) report released in May, the sons were involved in a dispute against Zambada, their father’s former partner.
A federal grand jury indicted Guadalupe on drug trafficking, money laundering, and weapons charges, according to earlier court documents released by prosecutors.
CNN reported that Guadalupe’s lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman, mentioned his client potentially facing the death penalty. However, Lichtman did not respond to an AFP request for comments.
In his 30s, Guadalupe is one of El Chapo’s sons collectively known as Los Chapitos, or “The Little Chapos.”
El Chapo was found guilty of drug charges in New York in 2019 and is currently serving a life sentence in a high-security prison.
In February 2023, Guzman, the former co-leader of Mexico’s potent Sinaloa cartel, was convicted in a US federal court for various crimes, including trafficking vast amounts of narcotics to the US.
Addressing Zambada’s arrest, DEA chief Anne Milgram stated that it severely impacts the cartel responsible for distributing most drugs, such as fentanyl and methamphetamine, causing harm across the US.
AFP