By Steve Neavling
Joaquín Guzmán López, the son of the notorious crime boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking and other charges Tuesday.
Guzmán López is accused of being a leader of Mexico’s deadly Sinaloa Cartel. He and Ismael Zambada García, also known as “El Mayo” and the co-founder of the cartel, were arrested last by U.S. law enforcement officials.
In his first court appearance since arriving in the U.S., Guzmán López pleaded guilty to federal drug distribution, money laundering and firearms charges, The Washington Post reports.
U.S. authorities said last week that Guzmán López and García were tricked into boarding a plane in Mexico by claiming they planned to explore real estate opportunities in the country’s north.
But the plane ended up in the U.S., where Guzmán López allegedly planned to surrender.
His attorney Jeffrey Lichtman, however, disputed that claim.
“We’ve got no agreement with the government. There has never been an agreement with the government with Joaquín,” Lichtman told reporters after Tuesday’s hearing.
The men were indicted in the U.S. and face multiple charges in connection with the cartel and its “deadly fentanyl manufacturing and trafficking networks,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
“Fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced, and the Justice Department will not rest until every single cartel leader, member, and associate responsible for poisoning our communities is held accountable,” Garland said.
In May, Jorge Ivan Gastelum Avila, a high-ranking member of the cartel, was extradited to the U.S. to face charges of international drug trafficking.
Mexican authorities arrested Gastelum Avila and El Chapo as they attempted to flee arrest in January 2016.
El Chapo was extradited to the U.S. in September 2023.
In 2020, the DEA called the Sinaloa Cartel the biggest criminal threat to the U.S.
