The United States described as “historic” Ovidio Guzman’s guilty plea
Ovidio Guzman’s guilty plea in the U.S. represents a major blow to drug trafficking due to everything that “El Chapo’s” son will be able to reveal
After Mexican drug trafficker Ovidio Guzman accepted his guilty plea to four charges against him, the United States Justice Department described this statement as “historic.”
In response, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California, Adam Gordon, noted that, following Guzmán López’s plea agreement, the leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel who remain at large “are paranoid, distrustful, and desperate.”
Meanwhile, Andrew Boutros, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, noted in a statement released by the Department of Justice that this is a significant step in the fight against organized crime.
“This historic guilty plea sends another clear message that this Administration will put an end to transnational criminal organizations and hold their highest-ranking members and associates accountable,” he said.
For his part, Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, stressed that the guilty plea by Guzmán López, son of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, is “another important step in holding the Sinaloa Cartel and its leaders accountable” for “fueling the fentanyl epidemic that has ravaged so many Americans.”
The four charges to which Guzmán López pleaded guilty in a Chicago court include trafficking multiple drugs, including fentanyl, and participating in organized crime.
Dressed in an orange outfit and with handcuffs on his feet, Guzmán López, 35, appeared in court with a beard and glasses, an image that was unfamiliar to him, and adopted a humble air while listening to Judge Sharon Coleman’s questions with headphones, according to EFE.
The Prosecutor’s Office specified that it will request a sentence less than life imprisonment as long as Guzmán "fulfills" his commitment, that is—although he didn't explicitly say so—to provide sufficient information to the U.S. justice system to continue pursuing drug trafficking.
According to the Justice Department, in his plea agreement, Guzmán López admitted that he coordinated the transportation of cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, and other drugs from Mexico to the U.S. border, sometimes in shipments weighing hundreds or thousands of kilograms.