chicago – Ovidio Guzman Lopez, the 33-year-old son of former Sinaloa drug cartel leader Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzman, pleaded not guilty to money laundering, drug trafficking and other charges in a Chicago court on Monday. He appeared in court for the first time since being extradited to the United States. The United States departed from Mexico three days ago.
“Rat” Guzmán Lopez, who looks docile and soft-spoken, spoke in English surrounded by eight uniformed U.S. Marshals in U.S. District Judge Sharon Coleman’s courtroom. An interpreter speaks during much of the proceedings.
Guzman Lopez’s courtroom demeanor stood in stark contrast to the responsibility prosecutors say he and his family bear.
According to court documents, Guzman Lopez and his brother, collectively known as “Chapitos,” are accused of succeeding their father as leaders of the Sinaloa cartel in 2019, when “El Chapo” America was sentenced to life in prison.
Prosecutors said that after taking control of the cartel, the Chapito family was responsible for running a global drug trafficking network, including fueling the deadly fentanyl crisis across the country.
Guzman Lopez and his brother are accused of using planes, submarines and container ships to smuggle large quantities of drugs into the United States and to run a network of couriers, tunnels and stash houses across Mexico and the United States.
The ABC7 Chicago I-Team reports that the drug cartel is responsible for 80 percent of the street drugs on the streets of metropolitan Chicago over the past 30 years, according to law enforcement officials.
Prosecutors also allege that Guzman Lopez and his brother committed shocking acts of violence to protect their fentanyl trafficking operation, including feeding rival drug traffickers to their pet tigers, dead or alive, among others Torture methods, including electrocution and waterboarding.
Security was heightened at the federal courthouse in Dirksen on Monday ahead of Guzman Lopez’s arraignment in light of what happened when he was detained by Mexican security forces earlier this year.
When he was arrested in January, violence erupted in Culiacan, the capital of Sinaloa state. Gunfire erupted, killing 30 people, including 10 military personnel, and news reports said Mexican troops used Black Hawk helicopter gunships to counter .50-caliber machine guns mounted on the cartel’s trucks. Many Mexican soldiers and civilians were killed in the crossfire.
There was no violence as U.S. officials extradited Guzman Lopez from Mexico to Chicago on Friday.
At his arraignment, Guzmán Lopez told the judge through a translator that he suffered from “depression and anxiety” and took daily medication for stomach pains from surgery he underwent the previous year.
Guzman Lopez’s attorney, Jeffrey Lichtman, told the I-Team after the hearing that his client was doing “okay” given the circumstances.
“It affects anybody’s mental state as a person, and he’s a sensitive person,” Leachman said. “He’s quiet and thoughtful, so it’s not an easy time for him.”
“He’s going to spend the rest of his life in prison, so if that doesn’t make you anxious and depressed,” Leachman continued.
Leachman also represents “El Chapo” Guzmán Lopez’s father.
Lichtman scoffed when asked if Guzmán Lopez would consider cooperating with the government and helping agents track down his fugitive brother.
“Will Ovidio help the government track down his brother? Does anyone else ask intelligent questions?” Leachman quipped. “No, he’s not going to work with his brothers.”
Guzmán Lopez’s presence in Chicago was welcomed by many in the local law enforcement community who oversee the prosecution of his father and the Sinaloa drug cartel.
Jack Riley, a former special agent in charge of the DEA field office in Chicago who worked on the early stages of the federal case against El Chapo, said Monday’s arraignment was “real vindication.”
“This is a major upgrade because this kid [Guzmán López] “He was one of El Chapo’s four children,” Riley told the I-Team. “We shot down one of them and we’re going to hunt down the other three… It will send a strong message to the remaining family members that no one is Untouchable. “
When “El Chapo” was extradited to the United States in 2017, he was taken to Brooklyn, New York, where he was tried and convicted, although many in Chicago law enforcement were disappointed by the decision not to try him in Chicago.
As Guzmán Lopez stood before a Chicago judge on Monday, some law enforcement officials said they were glad where the case ended up.
“I fought very hard to get the original El Chapo trial prosecuted in Chicago, as did the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” Riley said. “But politically, we were overruled. I think that showed the strength of our case, [and] The way we work. “
Guzman Lopez’s lawyer told the I-Team that he is being held in more humane conditions in the U.S. than his father, El Chapo.
If Guzman Lopez is convicted, he faces ten years to life in prison.
Experts say if convicted, he could be incarcerated at Colorado’s SuperMax prison, where his father is a lifelong resident.
