Joaquin Guzman Lopez, 39, pleaded guilty to two counts of drug trafficking and continuing criminal enterprise after admitting his role in overseeing the transport of tens of thousands of kilograms of drugs to the U.S., mostly through underground tunnels. With the plea deal he\u2019ll avoid life in prison. <\/p>\n
Security was tight at Chicago\u2019s federal court ahead of the hearing where prosecutors detailed events leading up to Guzman Lopez\u2019s dramatic arrest with another longtime Sinaloa leader on U.S. soil in July 2024. <\/p>\n
Guzman Lopez, wearing an orange jumpsuit and matching shoes, spoke little in court. At the start of the hearing, U.S. District Judge Sharon Coleman asked him what he did for work.<\/p>\n
\u201cDrug trafficking,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cOh that\u2019s your job,\u201d Coleman said with a chuckle. \u201cThere you go.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Stay up to date with the news and the best of AP by following our WhatsApp channel.<\/p>\n If Guzman Lopez cooperates with the U.S. government, prosecutors say they would reduce the life sentence attached to the charges. Regardless, he faces at least 10 years in prison, said Andrew Erskine, an attorney representing the federal government.<\/p>\n Guzman Lopez would have no opportunity to appeal the sentence as part of the plea deal.<\/p>\n His defense attorney, Jeffrey Lichtman, commended both U.S. and Mexican authorities. <\/p>\n \u201cThe government has been very fair with Joaquin thus far,\u201d he told reporters after the hearing. \u201cI do appreciate the fact that the Mexican government didn\u2019t interfere.\u201d<\/p>\n Guzman Lopez and another longtime Sinaloa leader, Ismael \u201cEl Mayo\u201d Zambada, were arrested in July 2024 in Texas after they landed in the U.S. on a private plane. Both men have previously pleaded not guilty to various drug trafficking, money laundering and firearms charges. Their surprising capture<\/a> prompted a surge in violence in Mexico\u2019s northern state of Sinaloa as two factions of the Sinaloa cartel clashed.<\/p>\n As part of the plea deal, Joaquin Guzman Lopez admitted to helping oversee the production and smuggling of large quantities of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana and fentanyl into the United States, fueling a crisis<\/a> that has contributed to tens of thousands of overdose deaths annually.<\/p>\n Guzman Lopez also admitted to kidnapping an unnamed individual purported to be Zambada. Erskine described the alleged kidnapping in court, saying Guzman Lopez had the glass from a floor-to-ceiling window removed. During a meeting in the room with the unnamed person, Guzman Lopez allegedly had others enter through the open window, seize the individual, put a bag over his head and take him to a plane. On board, he was zip tied and given sedatives before the plane landed at a New Mexico airport near the border with Texas.<\/p>\n Erskine said the alleged kidnapping was part of an attempt to show cooperation with the U.S. government, which did not sanction it. He said Guzman Lopez would not receive cooperation credit from the incident.<\/p>\n Zambada\u2019s attorney has previously claimed that his client was \u201cforcibly kidnapped\u201d<\/a> by Guzman Lopez onto the flight into the U.S. <\/p>\n Lichtman said he would try to seek a lower sentence. <\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know how this ends up,\u201d Lichtman said. \u201cIf he gets a 10-year sentence, it\u2019s still a lot of time for anybody to spend in prison.\u201d<\/p>\n In court, observers were instructed to turn off electronic devices while authorities used police dogs to sniff bags and equipment in the downtown courthouse\u2019s lobby. <\/p>\n In July, Ovidio Guzman Lopez became the first son of drug lord Joaquin \u201cEl Chapo\u201d Guzman<\/a> to enter a plea deal. He pleaded guilty to drug trafficking, money laundering and firearms charges tied to his leadership role in the cartel. Legal experts called the plea deal a significant step for the U.S. government in their investigation and prosecution of Sinaloa cartel leaders.<\/p>\n
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