On this Monday morning, Ovidio Guzmán López appeared at the Northern District Court of Illinoisin Chicago, to follow up on the criminal process he faces for drug trafficking and money laundering, activities he carried out under the faction of Sinaloa Cartel known as ‘Los Chapitos‘.
The event took place in room 1241 of the Everett McKinley Dirksen Courthouse. The hearing, headed by the judge Sharon Johnson Colemanwas to review the charges that Ovidio faces in said Court.
Federal prosecutors indicated that the son of Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán conspired to distribute cocaine, heroin, marijuana and methamphetamine from Mexico to the United States between 2008 and 2021.
However, Ovid’s defense—led by lawyer Jeffrey Lichtman— indicated that he needs more time to review the evidence presented against his client, according to media reports The National Desk. Therefore, the next October 1st as the date on which the process will be followed up.
In it Northern District of IllinoisOvid faces five charges: possession of drugs with intent to distribute; conspiracy to import, manufacture and distribute controlled substances; money laundering conspiracy; participation in an ongoing criminal enterprise and carrying firearms.
On September 18, 2023, ‘El Ratón’ appeared at the first hearing of his criminal process, in which he declared “not guilty” of the five charges mentioned. This raised the question of whether ‘El Chapo’s’ son would go to trial or decide to cooperate with the US.
They are not the only accusations that weigh against Ovid, since in the Southern District of New York face others six charges: participation in an ongoing criminal enterprise; conspiracy to import fentanyl; conspiracy to distribute fentanyl; possession of machine guns and destructive devices; conspiracy to possess machine guns and conspiracy to launder money.
Currently, Ovidio is imprisoned in the Chicago Metropolitan Correctional Center, where he was assigned inmate number 72884-748. His arrival at this maximum security prison occurred after September 15, 2023. extradited to the US for its involvement in fentanyl trafficking.
Ovidio Guzmán had been captured twice in Mexico. The first occurred on October 17, 2019 in Culiacán, Sinaloa, but due to the disturbances that Los Chapitos caused in the city – such as shootings and burning of vehicles – President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) chose to release him. That violent episode is remembered as ‘He Culiacanazo‘.
On January 5, 2023, Ovidio was captured for the second time in Culiacán. Although hitmen from Los Chapitos tried to replicate what happened in 2019, the Mexican Army managed to secure ‘El Ratón’, who was later transferred to the maximum security prison of ‘The Altiplano‘, in the State of Mexico.
About Ivan Archivaldo, Jesus Alfredo and Joaquin Guzman (Ovidio’s stepbrothers and brother who lead the Los Chapitos faction), are also wanted by American justice due to their participation in fentanyl trafficking. For the first two, a reward from up to USD 10 million in exchange for information that leads to his capture, while for the third party they offer up to USD 5 million.
