Son of ‘El Chapo’ to Plead Guilty in U.S. Drug Trafficking Case

Son of ‘El Chapo’ to Plead Guilty in U.S. Drug Trafficking Case
This frame grab from video, provided by the Mexican government, shows Ovidio Guzman Lopez being detained in Culiacan, Mexico, Oct. 17, 2019. (CEPROPIE via AP File)

The son of notorious Mexican drug kingpin “El Chapo” intends to plead guilty to drug trafficking charges in the U.S., according to court documents filed Tuesday.

Prosecutors allege Ovidio Guzman Lopez, along with his brother, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, ran a faction of the cartel known as the “Chapitos,” or little Chapos, that exported fentanyl to the United States.

Ovidio Guzman Lopez’s father is Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, the former leader of the Sinaloa cartel who smuggled mountains of cocaine and other drugs into the United States over 25 years.

Ovidio Guzman Lopez was arrested in Mexico in 2023 and extradited to the United States. He was charged in federal court in Chicago with money laundering, drug and firearm offenses.

He previously pleaded not guilty, but online court records indicate he is scheduled to appear in court on July 9 to change his plea as part of a deal with prosecutors. Court documents filed Tuesday indicate he intends to plead guilty after word of a possible deal was disclosed during an October hearing.

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