El Chapo’s Son’s Cooperation with U.S. Prosecutors Could Reshape Political Power in Mexico
Ovidio Guzmán López pleaded guilty to four U.S. federal charges last week during a hearing held in the Northern District of Illinois.At 35 years old, El Chapo Guzmán’s son accepted the charges for operating a continuous criminal organization and conspiring to traffic drugs, including fentanyl, and arms trafficking.
The Trump administration continues to target Mexican criminal organizations, including the Sinaloa cartel. Various Mexican news outlets report that this admission of guilt in high-level crimes such as drug trafficking, arms trafficking, and organized crime allows him to seek a waiver expressly to appeal any sentence that is imposed.
The judicial move could allow Ovidio to receive a relatively moderate sentence for the serious charge of coordinating massive shipments of fentanyl into the US. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York transferred the case to Chicago on July 1, which allows an accelerated resolution by concentrating the federal charges in a single jurisdiction.
Ovidio’s lawyer, Jeffrey Lickman, insists that his client will not only collaborate but also reveal the high-level connections that for years protected the Sinaloa cartel. Ovidio’s cooperation could open a Pandora’s box and could change the way we fully understand the relationship between Mexico’s politicians and criminal organizations.
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