Overview

• Ovidio Guzman Lopez is scheduled to formally change his plea to guilty in Chicago federal court on July 11 under a negotiated agreement with prosecutors.
• The plea hearing was quietly moved from July 9 to July 11, reflecting the culmination of months of behind-the-scenes discussions.
• He is accused of conspiring in a continuing criminal enterprise, importing and distributing fentanyl, laundering money and using firearms.
• If accepted by the court, his plea would mark the first time a son of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzman has struck a deal with U.S. federal prosecutors.
• Federal authorities allege Ovidio and his brother led Los Chapitos’ vast fentanyl network that supplied a “staggering” volume of the opioid to the United States.