chicago — The son of notorious Mexican drug lord El Chapo is set to change his plea to not guilty on Monday in a US drug trafficking case, months after his brother struck a plea deal.
Joaquin Guzman Lopez He was scheduled to appear in court Monday in Chicago for a status hearing, but the court document said the appearance will now serve as a plea change hearing. The document did not say whether he would plead guilty, and Jeffrey Lichtman, Joaquin Guzman Lopez’s lawyer, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Known locally as “Shapito.” Or “Little Chabbos” Joaquin Guzman Lopez His brother, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, is accused of running a faction of the Sinaloa cartel. Federal authorities in 2023 described the operation as a massive effort to send “astonishing” amounts of fentanyl into the United States.
Joaquín Guzman Lopez and another longtime Sinaloa leader, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, were arrested in July 2024 in Texas after landing in the United States on a private plane. Both men have previously pleaded not guilty to numerous drug trafficking, money laundering and firearms charges.
Their arrest dramatically led to an escalation of violence in the northern Mexican state of Sinaloa, where two factions of the Sinaloa cartel clashed.
Ovidio Guzman Lopez was the first son of the drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman To enter into a plea deal, he admitted to helping supervise the production and smuggling of large quantities of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana, and fentanyl into the United States. Fueling the crisis Which contributed to tens of thousands of overdose deaths annually.
Ovidio Guzman Lopez pleaded guilty to drug trafficking, money laundering and firearms charges related to his leadership role in the cartel. Legal experts described the plea deal as an important step for the US government in its investigation and prosecution of the Sinaloa Cartel leaders.
Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman He is serving a life sentence after being convicted in 2019 for his role as a former Sinaloa cartel leader, smuggling mountains of cocaine and other drugs into the United States over a 25-year period. The brothers allegedly took over their father’s previous role as cartel leaders.