The son of the infamous Mexican drug kingpin “El Chapo” intends to plead guilty to a drug trafficking charge in the United States, according to court documents filed Tuesday.
Prosecutors claim that Obigio Guzman Lopez, along with his brother Joaquin Guzman Lopez, runs a cartel faction known as “Chapitos” or small Chapoe, who exported fentanyl to the United States.
Obigio Guzman Lopez’s father is Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, who smuggled a mountain of cocaine and other drugs into the United States for 25 years.
Obigio Guzman Lopez was arrested in Mexico in 2023 and handed over to the US. He was charged with money laundering, drug and firearms crimes in federal court in Chicago.
Although he had previously pleaded not guilty, online court records show that he is scheduled to appear in court on July 9th to change his plea as part of his deal with prosecutors. Court documents filed Tuesday show he intends to plead guilty after the words of possible deals were revealed at the October hearing.
Ovidio Guzman Lopez was the first brother to join a plea bargain.
Joaquin Guzman Lopez also holds US custody. He and another longtime Sinaloa leader, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, were arrested in Texas after landing in the United States on a private plane in July. Joaquin Guzman Lopez pleaded not guilty to charges including money laundering, drug trafficking and conspiracy to distribute drugs. Zambada also pleaded not guilty.
The dramatic capture of the men prompted a surge in violence in northern Mexico’s state of Sinaloa as two factions of the Sinaloa cartel clashed.
The federal prosecutor and lawyers for Obigio Guzman Lopez, who were featured in online court records as Jeffrey Lichtmann, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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