Ovidio Guzmán, on the ropes in the US?

Miami.— Ovidio Guzmán López gets ready to return to appear before American justice, on June 17, and the big question is: Will he negotiate and cooperate or will he go to a trial that could end up with him in prison for life, just like his father, Joaquín Guzmán Loera, El Chapo?

“The reality is that the ball is in the court of the prosecutors from the United States, because if they offer something that could reduce the sentence against Ovid, it would help considerably; although the panorama is very trapped for Ovidio”, he warns THE UNIVERSAL Guillermo Alberto Hidalgo, security expert.

“The truth is I don’t see Ovid declaring against his brothers or against El Mayo Zambada and not against his uncle either, although they have been at odds lately, that’s why I say it’s a very complicated matter, because it’s a family matter and I don’t think he’ll do it,” says the security expert with conviction.

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“Although today the honor codes they are almost not seen [entre los cárteles] Yes, I am clear that with the family they do not betray each other,” he declares.

Ovidio, alias El Ratón, leader of Los Chapitoswas arrested in Mexico on January 5, 2023 and extradited to the United States in September of the same year. It is currently in the Chicago Metropolitan Correctional Center, Illinoisand on March 18, Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman read the charges against him.

Ovidio’s lawyer is the same as that of his father, El Chapo, former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel: Jeffrey Lichtman. Guzmán Loera was sentenced to life imprisonment, which he serves in the maximum security prison ADX in Florencein Colorado.

The charges Ovidio faces in the United States are equally serious: conspiracy to import drugs, conspiracy to distribute drugs, participation in an ongoing criminal enterprise, money laundering and possession of a firearm, among others. Ovidio pleaded not guilty to the accusations against him. Furthermore, his involvement in the distribution of fentanylwhich in 2022 caused the deaths of almost 80 thousand people in the United States, puts it in a more difficult position, with the United States government trying to send the message that those who are causing The death of tens of thousands of citizens will pay the price.

Read also: “With the next six-year term, Iván Archivaldo Guzmán will consolidate himself as the dominant figure of Mexican drug trafficking,” says José Luis Montenegro, author of the “Los Chapitos” investigation.

So far, neither Ovid nor Lichtman has given any indication that Ovid may cooperate with justice and become an informant, in exchange for a reduced sentence. However, a factor that they did not count on could impact El Ratón’s strategy.

On May 25, he was extradited to the United States Nestor Isidro Perezalias El Nini, who was head of security for Los Chapitos and who was arrested on November 22, 2023.

The extradition is a hard blow to Ovidio, due to the information that El Nini could provide about El Chapo’s son.

In statements to the Riodoce media, Mike Vigil, who was head of special operations for the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), He assured that “it is too obvious that the extradition [de El Nini]carried out in record time, is to have all the evidence against Ovid.”

“For all the information he has… Nini is the one who would bury the Mouse,” Vigil added. Nini, accused of, among other things, murdering a DEA informant, has clear benefits if he cooperates with justice, becoming a protected witness in order to reduce your sentence. Until now, Lichtman has said that the US government lacks evidence enough against Ovidio, but the extradition of his former security chief changes the whole picture.

“I don’t see Ovidio testifying against his brothers or against El Mayo Zambada or against his uncle.” [Aureliano El Guano Guzmán Loera]although they have been at odds lately, that’s why I say it’s a very trappedbecause it is a family matter and I don’t think I will do it,” says Hidalgo.

Instead, he explains, Ovid “could give some names” not linked to his family. “For example, he could give the finger to the Russians and the Salazars operating in Sonora or he could give names of members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and perhaps” give information about Nemesio Oseguera, alias El Mencho, although this could “no longer be of interest because he is either very sick or has even already died,” says Hidalgo. Such cooperation would be crucial for US authorities in their continued efforts to dismantle the operations of the Sinaloa Cartel and the CJNG.

Read also: Who is “El Mayo” Zambada, leader of the Sinaloa Cartel and uncle of “Cheyo Ántrax”, murdered in Culiacán?

Such treatment is no stranger to Lichtman, who obtained a reduced sentence for Emma Coronelthe wife of El Chapo, who voluntarily surrendered to the authorities and is today in conditional freedom, after spending two and a half years in prison.

However, Vigil sees it as unlikely that Ovidio will reach an agreement with American justice. Beyond his will, he explained, the extradition of El Nini makes it clear that who it is going for, and who they are interested in having behind bars, is El Ratón, because that would send a very powerful message not only to the Sinaloa Cartel, but to the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel, the other person responsible for flood with drugs To united states.

Another strategy of the lawyers is related to the possibility of arguing about possible irregularities in the extradition process and about the jurisdiction of the charges, thus seeking to weaken the case of the prosecutor’s office or find procedural flaws that can be used to reduce sentences or even dismiss them.

On some occasions, the defense could use health conditions or humanitarian arguments to seek more favorable treatment or more bearable detention conditions for their client. This includes ensuring that your human rights and be given fair treatment during the judicial process.

In this sense, after his arrest, Lichtman was quick to describe Ovidio as a “sensitive boy” who suffers from Emotional problems such as anxiety and depression. At his first hearing, Ovid confirmed these ailments, for which he, he said, is medicated.

Furthermore, it requires special feedingsince he underwent surgery in which a part of his stomach was removed.

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While Ovidio awaits his fate in the Chicago court, the Sinaloa Cartel is more divided than ever but, at the same time, with so many heads, it remains working.

“One of the characteristics of the Sinaloa Cartel is that its leadership operates horizontally,” says Hidalgo, “so the captures and extraditions of Ovidio and his father hit and weakened them momentarily, but Ovidio’s brothers and El Mayo Zambada , especially, maintain the strength of the cartel; because each of them supports it with their own decisions.”

The DEA describes the Sinaloa cartel as an “umbrella” cartel that includes four organizations who cooperate with each other: Los Chapitos, the Mayo group, Aureliano’s, who seems to have “divorced” the cartel and work on their own, and Rafael Quintero.

Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar, El Chapito, is considered one of the main leaders of the faction known as Los Chapitos. He has been involved in overseeing drug trafficking operations and general administration of the cartel. He is known for his ability to handle the cartel finances and coordinate the transportation of drugs to the United States. He has also been involved in coordinating drug trafficking routes and making strategic decisions within the cartel.

Read also: Sinaloa Cartel and CJNG, present in 50 US states, DEA reveals

“For the DEA, Iván Archivaldo is currently the most visible of the Sinaloa Cartel since Ovidio was extradited to the United States,” says Hidalgo.

It follows Jesus Alfredo Guzman SalazarEl Alfredillo, who together with Iván Archivaldo, has taken leadership responsibilities within the cartel. He has been responsible for drug logistics and distribution, as well as relations with other criminal groups and international distribution networks. He has played an important role in maintaining the cartel’s operations after the capture of his father and his brother Ovidio.

The backbone of unity, in any case, falls on Ismael El Mayo Zambada, founder of the cartel along with El Chapo. But that could also change soon, generating instability in the cartel. In its annual evaluation, the DEA warned that Zambada “is not in good health.” According to Vigil, El Mayo suffers diabetes and recently DEA sources indicated that the disease has complicatedhas caused damage to several organs and vision problems, so he would remain practically prostrate in bed.

With Ovidio in prison, and El Mayo out of the game, the instability of the cartel, Hidalgo warns, will increase and that could translate into more violence for control of the group.