Overview

• On July 11 in U.S. District Court in Chicago, Ovidio Guzmán López admitted to two counts of drug conspiracy and two counts of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise.
• As part of a multi-district plea agreement resolving charges in Illinois and New York, he faces up to life in prison with sentencing to be scheduled later.
• Guzmán López has agreed to provide testimony and information to federal investigators that could implicate other Sinaloa Cartel leaders.
• He is the first of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán’s sons to reach a plea deal with U.S. prosecutors, marking a key milestone in the campaign against the cartel’s leadership.
• U.S. authorities allege the Chapitos faction managed a vast fentanyl-trafficking network blamed for fueling a deadly opioid epidemic and triggering cartel violence in Mexico.