A son of notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán has admitted guilt to drug trafficking charges in a Chicago court, agreeing to cooperate with United States prosecutors for a potentially reduced sentence.
Joaquín Guzmán López, one of four sons of the imprisoned Sinaloa cartel leader, pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and continuing criminal enterprise charges, reversing the not guilty plea he entered following his July 2024 arrest in Texas, according to court documents.
Under the plea agreement reviewed by AFP, prosecutors have consented to allow the judge to spare him from life imprisonment on the drug charges, contingent on his level of cooperation.
“Defendant understands that the decision to depart from the applicable guideline sentence…the mandatory minimum sentence of life imprisonment, rests solely with the Court,” the filing stated.
Guzmán López will be sentenced by the judge at a later date and is required to pay $80 million, representing the proceeds of his criminal activities.
His brother, Ovidio Guzmán, had earlier pleaded guilty in July 2025 as part of a plea deal that reduced his sentence.
Ovidio admitted to conspiracy in drug trafficking and participating in a criminal enterprise, acknowledging that he and his brothers, known collectively as “Los Chapitos,” had assumed control of their father’s cartel operations.
The 68-year-old “El Chapo” is serving a life sentence in a Colorado supermax federal prison following his 2016 arrest and 2019 conviction.
“Based upon facts now known to the government, defendant has clearly demonstrated a recognition and affirmative acceptance of personal responsibility for his criminal conduct,” the plea agreement noted.
Guzmán López was involved in transporting “hundreds or thousands of kilograms” of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and marijuana from Mexico into the United States, the filing added.
– Trump’s war on drugs –
Initially, in July 2024, Joaquín Guzmán López pleaded not guilty to charges including drug trafficking, money laundering, and weapons possession.
He was arrested that month upon arrival in Texas aboard a small private plane alongside Ismael “Mayo” Zambada, co-founder of the Sinaloa cartel. Zambada claimed he was misled about the destination and abducted by Guzmán López to be forcibly handed over to U.S. authorities.
Following the arrest, violent clashes erupted between factions of the cartel led by the Guzmán brothers and Zambada, resulting in approximately 1,200 deaths in Mexico and around 1,400 disappearances, according to official records.
The U.S. government accuses the Sinaloa cartel of trafficking fentanyl into the country, a synthetic drug linked to tens of thousands of overdose deaths, straining U.S.-Mexico relations.
The Sinaloa cartel is among six Mexican drug-trafficking organizations designated as global terrorist groups by former U.S. President Donald Trump.
In a robust stance against the cartel, the Trump administration imposed further sanctions against “Los Chapitos” in June for fentanyl trafficking and increased the reward for each fugitive brother to $10 million.
The remaining two Guzmán sons, Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar and Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar, are also indicted on U.S. drug trafficking charges but remain at large.
