Ovidio Guzman Lopez, son of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzman, signed a plea agreement in a federal court in Chicago, in which he waives his right to a trial and accepts the drug trafficking charges against him. The hearing to formalize his guilty plea is scheduled for July before Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman, and could open the door to the US government's witness protection program. This judicial move comes just days after the US Treasury Department, through its Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), accused Vector Casa de Bolsa, one of Mexico's leading financial firms, of facilitating money laundering operations for the Sinaloa Cartel. According to the report, between 2013 and 2023, the firm allegedly processed millions of dollars in transfers between Mexican and Chinese companies linked to fentanyl production. According to journalist and security specialist José Luis Montenegro, the two events are not a coincidence. In an interview with Azucena Uresti, Montenegro maintained that the information that Ovidio Guzmán allegedly provided regarding the cartel's financial operations, particularly those related to Vector, could be key to her legal strategy. "Casa Vector is very likely the case in which Ovidio Guzmán would have also cooperated to open the door to the witness protection program or opportunity criterion," Montenegro affirmed. The case against Vector According to FinCEN documents, Vector was used by a "mule" of the Sinaloa Cartel to transfer more than two million dollars between the United States and Mexico, and subsequently channel more than one million to Chinese companies that supplied chemical precursors. The report also points to other Mexican institutions—CIBanco and Intercam—as part of the organized crime financial network, specifically linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), the Gulf Cartel, and the Beltrán Leyva family. In the Intercam case, FinCEN documented meetings between bank executives and members of the CJNG, as well as transfers of more than $1.5 million to Chinese entities linked to fentanyl trafficking. CIBanco, for its part, allegedly facilitated payments of more than $2.1 million to Chinese companies operating with various Mexican criminal groups. In response to these allegations, the Mexican government announced the temporary intervention of the three institutions to protect the interests of savers and creditors. However, President Claudia Sheinbaum publicly questioned the validity of the US accusations. "They are just words, but there is no evidence of where the money laundering is going on. If there is evidence, action is taken, there is no impunity. But if there is no evidence, action cannot be taken, as with any crime," the president declared at his morning press conference. Ovidio's agreement Montenegro believes that Ovidio Guzmán's cooperation is part of a broader legal strategy,in which other members of the Sinaloa Cartel could follow the same path. His brother Joaquín Guzmán López is expected to appear, and the trial of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada is expected to proceed in August.

As part of the alleged agreement with prosecutors, at least 17 of Ovidio's relatives entered the United States last May under federal protection, including his mother Griselda López Pérez, his wife Adriana Meza Torres, and his daughters.

If his inclusion in the witness protection program is confirmed, “El Ratón” could receive a new identity, supervised residence, and a reduced sentence that would allow him to be released in an estimated period of between 2 and 3 years.

Ovidio's case would follow the legal route of other former cartel allies, such as Vicente Zambada Niebla, alias “El Vicentillo,” Dámaso López Serrano, alias “El Mini Lic,” and Lucero Guadalupe Sánchez, alias “La Chapodiputada,” who also received judicial benefits in the United States in exchange of his cooperation with the prosecution.