Drug lord’s relatives enter US as part of negotiation – Mexico
A van belonging to bodyguards of Ovidio Guzman, aka “El Raton” (The Mouse), son of jailed drug trafficker Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, is seen in Jesus Maria in Culiacan, Sinaloa State, Mexico, on January 7, 2023, where Ovidio Guzman was arrested on January 5. FILE PHOTO/Agence France-Presse
MEXICO CITY — Relatives of Ovidio Guzman, a son of Sinaloa cartel co-founder Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, have gone to the United States as part of his negotiations with US authorities, Mexico’s security minister said Tuesday.
Ovidio Guzman, known as “El Raton” (The Mouse), pleaded not guilty in a US District court in Chicago last year but is believed to be seeking a plea deal.
Seventeen of his relatives crossed over to the United States “due to this negotiation,” Security Minister Omar Garcia Harfuch said in an interview with Radio Formula.
READ: Mexico extradites Ovidio Guzmán López, son of cartel leader ‘El Chapo,’ to US
The family members were not wanted by Mexican authorities, he added, urging the US Department of Justice to share information with Mexico about the case.
The department declined to comment.
Ovidio Guzman was extradited to the United States in 2023 to face narcotics charges, joining his father, one of the world’s most infamous drug traffickers, who is serving a life sentence in a US prison.
Judicial sources told AFP in October that Ovidio Guzman was negotiating a plea deal with prosecutors to avoid trial.
A court hearing in the case was due to be held on May 12, but it was canceled and rescheduled for July 9.
READ: Mexico hints US made deal with drug lord to get bro moved from prison
According to court documents, a “change of plea agreement” is set to take place on that day before a judge in Illinois.
The United States accuses El Chapo’s sons — known as the Chapitos — of taking over the Sinaloa cartel after the capture of their father.
The cartel is one of six Mexican drug trafficking groups designated terrorist organizations by US President Donald Trump.
Ovidio Guzman is accused of conspiring to ship cocaine, fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana into the United States.
Another son, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, was arrested after arriving in the United States last July in a private plane with cartel co-founder Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, who claimed he had been kidnapped.
The arrests sparked cartel infighting that has left more than 1,200 people dead and 1,400 missing in Sinaloa state, located in northwestern Mexico.
