Ovidio Guzman Lopez plans to vary his not responsible plea throughout a listening to after arrest in 2023.
A son of the notorious Mexican drug cartel boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman is anticipated to plead responsible in a wide-ranging United States drug trafficking case at a court docket listening to in Chicago.
Courtroom data for Ovidio Guzman Lopez point out he intends to vary his not-guilty plea as a part of a take care of federal prosecutors on the listening to on Friday.
If confirmed, it will be the primary time one in every of El Chapo’s sons has struck such an settlement.
Federal prosecutors allege that Ovidio and his brother, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, who grew to become recognized regionally as Los Chapitos, led a robust faction of the infamous Mexican Sinaloa cartel.
They’re accused of masterminding a significant fentanyl trafficking operation that funnelled what prosecutors described as a “staggering” quantity of the artificial opioid into the US. The US has suffered a significant opioid disaster in the previous few a long time, which has resulted in giant numbers of deaths, dependancy, and lawsuits.
Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman is presently serving a life sentence in a US federal jail following a 2019 conviction. After his seize, Ovidio Guzman Lopez and his siblings reportedly took on key management roles inside the cartel.
Ovidio Guzman Lopez was arrested by Mexican authorities in early 2023 and extradited to the US months later. He initially pleaded not responsible to drug trafficking, cash laundering and firearms prices.
His brother, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, and longtime cartel chief Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada had been arrested in Texas in 2024 after arriving on a personal airplane. Each males have pleaded not responsible to a number of prices.
Their high-profile seize set off a wave of violence throughout Sinaloa as rival factions scrambled for management, vying for management of routes used to supply and transport narcotics, together with fentanyl, which can be usually destined for the US.
The teams are cut up between members loyal to the Sinaloa Cartel cofounders, “El Chapo” Guzman and Zambada.
