One of the sons of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera has entered into plea negotiations with federal prosecutors on charges that he was a key player in running his father’s deadly cartel through brutal violence.
Ovidio Guzman Lopez, wearing an orange jumpsuit with chains around his ankles, appeared Monday morning before U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman.
During the brief hearing, prosecutors informed Coleman they had begun discussing a possible resolution with Lopez’s counsel, and requested a later court date to allow for those negotiations to continue.
“It may end up with a plea, it may not,” Guzman Lopez’s attorney, Jeffrey Lichtman, said following the hearing. “We’ll probably know more by the next court appearance.”
Lopez’s brother, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, was arrested over the summer along with Sinaloa Cartel co-founder Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada Garcia. Rumors circulated that Joaquin Guzman Lopez had struck a deal with federal authorities prior to his arrest.
But Lichtman, who represents both brothers, said, “We’ve got no agreement with the government.”
Ovidio and Joaquin Guzman Lopez and their brothers Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar and Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar — known as “Los Chapitos” — are charged in a massive drug conspiracy, alleging they took over their father’s empire after his arrest. Two other brothers remain at large.
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Ovidio Guzman Lopez was arrested one year ago and extradited to the United States, where he entered a plea of not guilty to the five counts against him, including two that carry a sentence of up to life in prison.
In court Monday, Ovidio Guzman Lopez consented to Lichtman serving as his attorney and waived any potential conflict over Lichtman also representing his brother. “I have spoken to Mr. Lichtman and yes, it is alright,” he said through a translator.
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Lichtman later told reporters it’s not uncommon for lawyers to represent two defendants. In this case, he said, both brothers “may end up reaching similar resolutions.”
If they were to reach different resolutions, Lichtman said he could still represent both as long as one brother was not testifying against the other. “There’s a myriad of possibilities in a situation like this, but at this point, right now, the government is not objecting,” Lichtman said.
Both brothers’ next court date is Jan. 7.
Charges against the four “Chapitos” are part of a wider Justice Department campaign against what Attorney General Merrick Garland called “the largest, most violent and most prolific fentanyl-trafficking operation in the world — run by the Sinaloa Cartel and fueled by Chinese precursor chemical and pharmaceutical companies.”
El Chapo is currently serving a life sentence in the federal “supermax” prison in Florence, Colorado.
Sinaloa co-founder Zambada Garcia had eluded authorities for decades and never set foot in a prison until a plane carrying him and Joaquin Guzman Lopez landed in New Mexico on July 25. Attorneys for Zambada Garcia have accused Joaquin Guzman Lopez of “forcibly kidnapping” their client.
A U.S. law enforcement official familiar with the matter said Zambada was actually duped into flying to the United States, boarding a plane he thought was taking him somewhere else.
When asked about the allegations, Lichtman claimed Zambada’s attorneys were trying to “score points with the media.”
