A son of notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán has pleaded guilty in a major U.S. drug trafficking case, months after his brother reached a similar deal.
Joaquín Guzmán López, 39, admitted in a Chicago courtroom on Monday that he helped run a powerful Sinaloa cartel faction known in Mexico as Los Chapitos, overseeing the shipment of tens of thousands of kilograms of drugs — including fentanyl — into the United States, much of it moved through underground tunnels. The plea allows him to avoid a mandatory life sentence, though he still faces a minimum of 10 years behind bars and forfeits any right to appeal.
Security was unusually heavy at the federal courthouse as prosecutors detailed the cartel leader’s dramatic 2024 arrest, carried out alongside longtime Sinaloa figure Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada. When U.S. District Judge Sharon Coleman asked Guzmán López what he did for a living, he answered plainly: “Drug trafficking.” The judge let out a brief chuckle before continuing the proceedings.
Under the terms of the agreement, Guzmán López could receive a lighter sentence if he cooperates with U.S. authorities. Prosecutors described his deep involvement in the production and smuggling of heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana and fentanyl — drugs that have fueled a deadly overdose crisis across North America.
The plea deal also included a startling admission: Guzmán López said he helped kidnap a man believed to be Zambada, in what prosecutors described as an unsanctioned attempt to appear cooperative with U.S. officials. The abduction involved removing the glass from a hotel window, storming the room through the opening, placing a hood over the victim’s head, and flying him — sedated and zip-tied — to New Mexico. Prosecutors said Guzmán López would not receive any cooperation credit for the incident.
His attorney, Jeffrey Lichtman, said the U.S. government had been “very fair” and thanked Mexican authorities for not intervening. He added he would push for the lowest sentence possible, noting that even 10 years is “a lot of time for anybody to spend in prison.”
The case marks another major development for U.S. prosecutors pursuing the leadership of the Sinaloa cartel. In July, his brother Ovidio became the first of El Chapo’s sons to strike a plea deal with the United States. Legal experts see both pleas as significant victories in the long-running effort to dismantle the cartel’s command structure.
El Chapo himself is serving a life sentence in the U.S. after decades of trafficking immense quantities of drugs into the country. Prosecutors say his sons stepped into leadership roles after his arrest, continuing the cartel’s deadly operations.