In October 2019, Ovidio Guzman, the son of former Sinaloa Cartel boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzman, pleaded guilty to two counts of drug trafficking and two counts of intentionally participating in persistent criminal activities in a deal with prosecutors in the United States. On the same day, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum criticized the US policy against drug cartels for being “lacking in consistency.”
According to reports by Reuters and other media, Ovidio Guzman admitted to the charges against him at a federal court in Chicago on October 11. These charges could have resulted in life imprisonment. In exchange, the prosecution agreed to a lighter sentence, conditioned on Ovidio Guzman’s commitment to “fully cooperate” with investigators.
The agreement was reached after months of negotiations between the two parties. Ovidio Guzman is set to appear again six months later, though the date for sentencing has not yet been determined by the judge.
On October 11, Sheinbaum criticized the US policy against combating drug cartels for being “lacking in consistency,” pointing out that while the US government classifies drug cartels as “foreign terrorist organizations,” it also reaches an agreement with their leaders.
Ovidio Guzman, now 35, is one of four sons of Guzman. He and his brother were found guilty of drug trafficking in 2018 by a US court and sought extradition to Mexico. In 2019, the Mexican government arrested Ovidio Guzman but he was released after a gunfight with the cartel. On January 5, 2023, Ovidio Guzman was captured by Mexican security forces and extradited to the United States in September of the same year.
Sinaloa Cartel, believed to be one of the largest drug trafficking groups globally and the largest criminal group in Mexico, had its leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman arrested three times and escaped twice. In 2017, he was extradited to the United States for trial and in 2019, he was sentenced to life imprisonment and fined $12.6 billion for drug trafficking, murder, and money laundering. He is currently serving his sentence in the highest-security prison in the United States. In July 2024, Ismael Sánchez-García, a co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel, and another son of Guzman surrendered in Texas, USA.