Mexican crime lord 'El Chapo's son admits guilt in drug case: US media

Joaquin Guzman Lopez, the son of notorious Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, pleaded guilty on Monday in Chicago to charges of drug trafficking and running a criminal organization, according to US media reports.

Initially arrested in Texas in July 2024, Guzman Lopez had pleaded not guilty, but he later changed his plea in a hearing at the US District Court in Chicago, the Chicago Tribune reported.

His brother Ovidio Guzman had previously entered a guilty plea in July 2025 as part of a deal for a reduced sentence. Ovidio admitted to conspiring in drug trafficking and engaging in criminal enterprise activities, acknowledging that he and his siblingscollectively known as "Los Chapitos"took over their fathers cartel operations.

The elder Guzman, now 68, is serving a life sentence in a Colorado supermax federal prison after being arrested in 2016 and convicted in 2019.

Guzman Lopez had faced charges for drug trafficking, money laundering, and weapons possession after being detained in Texas while arriving on a small private aircraft alongside Ismael "Mayo" Zambada, a Sinaloa cartel co-founder. Zambada claimed he was misled and abducted to be taken to the United States.

The arrest triggered violent clashes between the Guzman brothers' faction and Zambadas faction within the cartel, resulting in roughly 1,200 deaths and about 1,400 disappearances in Mexico, according to official reports.

The Sinaloa cartel is implicated in trafficking fentanyl to the United States, where the synthetic opioid has caused tens of thousands of overdose deaths. The group is one of six Mexican drug organizations labeled as global terrorist entities by former President Donald Trump.

In June, the Trump administration imposed additional sanctions against "Los Chapitos" and increased the bounty on each fugitive brother to $10 million for fentanyl-related offenses.

The other two Guzman sons, Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar and Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar, also face US drug trafficking indictments but remain fugitives.

Author: Sophia Brooks