Ovidio Guzman Lopez has updated his plea from ‘not guilty’ as part of an agreement with federal prosecutors.
A son of the infamous Mexican drug cartel boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman has pleaded guilty to four criminal counts in a wide-ranging United States drug trafficking case.
On Friday, in a courtroom in Chicago, Ovidio Guzman Lopez changed his plea from “not guilty” to “guilty” for charges related to drug trafficking, money laundering and firearms.
The change was part of a deal struck with federal prosecutors. While details remain scarce, such an deal would mark the first time one of El Chapo’s sons has struck an agreement with US prosecutors.
As part of his guilty plea, Guzman Lopez admitted to a leadership role in manufacturing and smuggling of drugs like fentanyl and cocaine into the US.
Federal prosecutors allege that Ovidio and his brother, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, who became known locally as Los Chapitos, led a powerful faction of the notorious Mexican Sinaloa cartel.
They are accused of masterminding a major fentanyl-trafficking operation that funnelled what prosecutors described as a “staggering” amount of the synthetic opioid into the US. The US has suffered a major opioid crisis in the last few decades, which has resulted in large numbers of deaths, addiction and lawsuits.
Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman is currently serving a life sentence in a US federal prison following a 2019 conviction. After his capture, Ovidio Guzman Lopez and his siblings reportedly took on key leadership roles within the cartel.
Ovidio Guzman Lopez was arrested by Mexican authorities in early 2023 and extradited to the US months later.
His brother, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, and longtime cartel leader Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada were arrested in Texas in 2024 after arriving on a private plane. Both men have pleaded not guilty to multiple charges.
Their high-profile capture set off a wave of violence across Sinaloa as rival factions scrambled for control, vying for control of routes used to produce and transport narcotics that are often destined for the US.
The groups are split between members loyal to the Sinaloa Cartel cofounders, “El Chapo” Guzman and Zambada.
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