San Francisco Frontiers - Son of Mexican crime lord 'El Chapo' pleads guilty in drug case

Joaquin Guzman Lopez, one of four sons of the jailed Sinaloa cartel leader, pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and continuing criminal enterprise -- reversing the original not guilty stance he took after his July 2024 arrest in Texas, court filings showed.

Under the plea deal filed with the court and seen by AFP, prosecutors agreed that the judge could spare him life imprisonment on the drug charges -- depending on his level of cooperation.

"Defendant understands that the decision to depart from the applicable guideline sentence...the mandatory minimum sentence of life imprisonment, rests solely with the Court," the filing said.

Guzman Lopez, who will be sentenced by the judge in the case at a later date, must also pay an $80 million charge representing the proceeds of his crimes.

Another of his three brothers, Ovidio Guzman -- as part of a plea deal struck in exchange for a reduced sentence -- pleaded guilty in July 2025 to conspiracy related to drug trafficking and two counts of participating in the activities of a criminal enterprise.

Ovidio Guzman also admitted that he and his brothers, known as "Los Chapitos," had taken over their father's operations within the cartel.

The 68-year-old "El Chapo" is serving a life sentence at a supermax federal prison in Colorado following his 2016 arrest and 2019 conviction.

"Based upon facts now known to the government, defendant has clearly demonstrated a recognition and affirmative acceptance of personal responsibility for his criminal conduct," the plea deal said.

Guzman Lopez was involved in the shipment of "hundreds or thousands of kilograms" of cocaine, heroin, meth and marijuana from Mexico to the United States, the filing added.

- Trump war on drugs -

In July 2024, Joaquin Guzman Lopez initially pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking, money laundering, and weapons possession.

He was taken into custody that month when he arrived in Texas aboard a small private plane, along with the co-founder of the Sinaloa cartel, Ismael "Mayo" Zambada.

Zambada claimed to have been misled about the destination and abducted by Guzman Lopez to be handed over against his will to the United States.

Following the arrest, clashes intensified between two factions of the cartel, headed respectively by the Guzman brothers and Zambada.

The infighting led to approximately 1,200 deaths in Mexico and around 1,400 disappearances, according to official figures.

Washington accuses the Sinaloa cartel of trafficking fentanyl to the United States, where the synthetic drug has caused tens of thousands of overdose deaths in recent years, straining relations with Mexico.

The Sinaloa cartel is one of six Mexican drug-trafficking groups that US President Donald Trump has designated as global terrorist organizations.

In its aggressive policy against drug cartels, the Trump administration announced additional sanctions against "Los Chapitos" in June for fentanyl trafficking and increased the reward to $10 million for each of the fugitive brothers.

The two other "Chapitos" -- Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar and Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar -- have also been indicted on drug trafficking charges in the United States but remain at large.

D.Brown--SFF