Chicago. Joaquin Guzman Lopez, son of El Chapo, pleaded not guilty in Chicago to drug trafficking charges, five days after his arrest in a dramatic operation.
Joaquín Guzmán López made the statement at a hearing in a federal court in Chicago before U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman.
In 2023, he was charged along with three of his brothers – known as the Chapitos– on drug trafficking and money laundering charges in the United States related to his assumption of leadership of the Sinaloa Cartel, following the extradition of his father to the United States in 2017.
El Chapo, convicted of murder and drug trafficking in 2019, he is serving a life sentence in a maximum security prison in Colorado.
Guzman Lopez, who is in his 30s, is due to appear in federal court in Chicago. He was taken into U.S. custody Thursday night near El Paso, Texas, along with Ismael Lopez. The May Zambada, the septuagenarian accused of being a drug lord who founded the Sinaloa cartel with El Chapo.
El Chapito Guzman Lopez allegedly tricked Zambada into boarding a propeller plane in Mexico by telling him they were going to look for property in the north of the country, U.S. officials familiar with the situation said last week. The plane landed in the United States, however, where Guzman Lopez had planned to surrender but Zambada had not.
Last week, Zambada pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges in federal court in El Paso.
His lawyer, Frank Perez, questioned the version of events offered by U.S. officials. Perez said Guzman Lopez “forcibly kidnapped” his client and took him to the United States against his will.
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– 2024-08-02 03:36:24
