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Mexican Judge Links Alleged Los Chapitos Pilot to Trial on Arms-Trafficking Charges

He remains in federal custody in Sonora during a three-month complementary investigation.

Overview

  • A federal judge in Hermosillo bound Juan Pablo Vargas Báez, known as “El Chuki/Chuky,” to face organized crime charges tied to the trafficking and manufacturing of weapons.
  • The court ordered preventive detention at Cefereso No. 11 in Sonora and set a three-month window for prosecutors to deepen the case.
  • Prosecutors allege he served as a pilot for the Los Chapitos faction and directed clandestine movements of arms, ammunition and explosives from Arizona into Mexico.
  • He was arrested in Badiraguato, Sinaloa, in a coordinated operation involving the Army, Navy, National Guard, SSPC and the FGR.
  • Officials say his case is part of a broader file that also names Ovidio Guzmán López, Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar and Julio César Chávez Jr., aligning with recent U.S. Treasury sanctions targeting Los Chapitos’ networks.