Ap, Afp and Reuters
The newspaper La Jornada
Wednesday, July 31, 2024, p. 5
Chicago. Joaquin Guzman Lopez, son of Mexican drug trafficker Joaquin El Chapo Guzman pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges in a Chicago court, five days after his arrest in an operation in which he allegedly turned over his father’s former business partner Ismael The May Zambada to US authorities.
Guzman Lopez, dressed in an orange jail uniform, stood with his ankles handcuffed as federal prosecutors in Chicago detailed a five-count indictment that also includes weapons offenses.
He declined to use a Spanish interpreter and instead answered “Yes, your honor” in English to most of U.S. District Judge Sharon Coleman’s questions designed to determine whether he understood the proceedings.
Guzmán López and Ismael The May Zambada, one of the long-time leaders of the Sinaloa cartel in Mexico, was arrested last week by U.S. authorities in the El Paso, Texas, area, according to the Justice Department.
The two men, who face separate charges in the United States, oversaw the trafficking of tens of thousands of pounds of drugs into the United States, along with the violence that went with it, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The judge ordered her to remain in jail without bail. Her next hearing is scheduled for September 30.
The son of El Chapowho told the court he suffers from thyroid problems and high blood pressure, was indicted in 2023 along with three of his brothers, known as The Chapitosfor drug trafficking, money laundering and weapons possession. They are considered to be the largest exporters of fentanyl to the US market.
His brother Ovidio Guzman was extradited from Mexico last year and also pleaded not guilty to the charges in a Chicago court.
At yesterday’s hearing, security was tight, with cell phones, laptops and other electronic devices banned from the courtroom.
Zambada pleaded not guilty last week to the various drug trafficking charges and was arrested without bail. He is due back in court later this week.
The mysterious capture of the men fueled theories about how federal authorities had carried out the capture.
Zambada’s attorney, Frank Perez, said his client was kidnapped by Guzman Lopez and taken to the United States aboard a private plane that landed near El Paso. The defense attorney rejected claims that his client had been tricked into flying to U.S. territory, as is one of the many speculations surrounding his capture.
Jeffrey Lichtman, a lawyer for Guzmán López who has represented other family members, rejected those ideas without elaborating.
There’s been an enormous amount of rumors and stuff in the press. I don’t know what’s real. I don’t know what’s not real, he said. But it really shouldn’t surprise anyone that there’s a story that seems to change every few minutes, meaning that a lot of what’s leaked to the press is inaccurate.
Lichtman added that there is no cooperation with the government and never has been.
The U.S. government was offering a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to Zambada’s capture.
The British newspaper The Guardian Zambada eluded U.S. authorities for years, he was thought to be more involved in the cartel’s day-to-day operations than in the cartel’s El Chapowho was sentenced to life in prison in the United States in 2019 and is the father of Guzmán López, 38.
U.S. officials told their Mexican counterparts – who were unaware of the operation – that Guzmán López turned himself in, but they provided confusing accounts of the nature of the arrest. The Mayhe added The Guardian.
