Relatives of cartel boss El Chapo enter US as part of ‘negotiation,’ Mexico’s security secretary says

Several family members of Mexican drug trafficker Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán have entered the United States as part of a negotiation in a case against one of his sons.

Several family members of Mexican drug trafficker Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán have entered the United States as part of a negotiation in a case against one of his sons, Mexico’s Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch confirmed in an interview with the Mexican network Radio Fórmula. El Chapo’s son Ovidio Guzmán López is facing drug trafficking charges in the US over his alleged role in the Sinaloa Cartel, which his father co-founded. Ovidio was extradited to the US in September 2023, several months after Mexican authorities arrested him in a large-scale operation that resulted in at least 29 deaths. Days after his extradition, he pleaded not guilty to the drug trafficking charges in a US court. But last week, he reached an agreement to change his plea, according to a court document reviewed by CNN. The document did not specify details of the agreement. “It’s clear that with his family going to the United States, it’s connected to this negotiation or plea deal opportunity provided by the (US) Department of Justice itself,” García Harfuch told Radio Fórmula on Tuesday. Ovidio is one of four sons of El Chapo who have been charged in the US with various crimes over their alleged roles in the Sinaloa Cartel.