The son of notorious Mexican cartel boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán was extradited to the United States on Friday to face a series of drug trafficking and money laundering charges.
Ovidio Guzmán López, 32, was transferred from a maximum security prison in Mexico, where he had been held on suspicion of leading the powerful Sinaloa drug cartel founded by his father.
He arrived in Chicago on Friday afternoon, a law enforcement source told the Chicago Sun-Times.
“This action is the latest step in the Department of Justice’s effort to target all aspects of the cartel’s operations,” US Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
Nicknamed “El Ratón,” Guzmán López, was arrested by Mexican security forces in January in Culiacán, the capital of the state of Sinaloa, the same name of the cartel.
Mexico on Friday extradited Ovidio Guzmán López, son of former Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, to the United States to face charges of drug trafficking, money laundering and others. CEPROPIE/AFP via Getty Images
He was taken to a maximum security prison more than 700 miles away, where he complained that conditions were “cruel and unfair.”
His capture triggered an outbreak of gang violence that killed at least 30 people, including 10 military personnel.
The Mexican military used Black Hawk helicopter gunships against the cartel’s truck-mounted .50 caliber machine guns. ‘
The January arrest triggered similar violence that killed 30 people in Culiacán, including 10 military personnel.
Cartel gunmen attacked two military planes, forcing them to land, and sent gunmen to the city’s airport, where military and civilian planes were hit by gunfire.
National Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall said in a statement that the extradition “is a testament to the importance of the ongoing cooperation between the U.S. and Mexican governments in the fight against narcotics and other vital challenges, and we thank our Mexican counterparts for their partnership in working to safeguard our people from violent criminals.”
Guzmán López’s extradition comes just days after the wife of the man’s 33-year-old father, Emma Coronel, was released from prison in the United States after being sentenced in November 2021 on drug trafficking charges.
El Chapo is serving a life sentence in a “supermax” prison in Colorado for leading the Sinaloa cartel.
Cartel gunmen attacked two military planes, forcing them to land, and sent gunmen to the city’s airport, where military and civilian planes were hit by gunfire.
The United States has been searching for Guzmán López for years, even promising a $5 million reward for his whereabouts.
Guzmán López has reportedly been involved in his father’s nefarious business since his teenage years.
He and his brothers are believed to control 11 meth labs in Sinaloa that produce up to 5,000 pounds of the deadly drug per month.
In April, U.S. prosecutors revealed sweeping allegations against Guzmán and his brothers, known collectively as the “Chapitos.”
Ovidio Guzmán was arrested in 2019 but later released after soldiers were overpowered by cartel gunmen. Arellano, Juan
Bullet-riddled vehicles on a street in Culican, Sinaloa, Mexico, following clashes between armed groups and Federal Forces in October 2019. EPA
Known as the “Chapitos,” the brothers were named in an April indictment accusing them of trying to produce huge quantities of fentanyl and sell it at the lowest price.
There were an estimated 109,680 overdose deaths in the United States last year, according to figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 75,000 of them were related to fentanyl and other synthetic opioids.
U.S. prosecutors allege that much of the production occurs in and around Culiacán, where the Sinaloa cartel exercises near-total control.
With post cables
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Source: vtt.edu.vn