Joaquín 'El Güero' Guzmán López, son of 'El Chapo', pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges in a Chicago federal court. He admitted supervising drug smuggling into the United States and his role in kidnapping Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada, but will receive no credit for the act. The U.S. Department of Justice hailed the plea as a victory against the Sinaloa Cartel.
Joaquín Guzmán López, 39, known as 'El Güero', appeared Monday in a northern Illinois federal court in Chicago, dressed in an orange prison uniform. He pleaded guilty to two counts of drug trafficking and continuing criminal enterprise, admitting his oversight of producing and smuggling tens of thousands of kilograms of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana, and fentanyl into the United States, mainly via underground tunnels. The deal spares him life imprisonment, though he faces a minimum of 10 years and cannot appeal the sentence, with a hearing set for June 1, 2026.
In his admission, Guzmán López detailed the kidnapping of Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada on July 25, 2024, in Sinaloa. He arranged a meeting to lure Zambada into a private room where he had removed the glass from a floor-to-ceiling window. He directed armed men to enter through the window, handcuff and hood Zambada with a bag, transport him by truck to an airstrip, and board him on a small plane. There, he was zip-tied and sedated until landing in New Mexico near Texas, where both were arrested after a private flight.
Prosecutor Andrew Erskine stated the kidnapping was an unauthorized attempt at cooperation with the U.S. government, which neither requested nor approved it, so Guzmán López and his brother Ovidio will receive no credit. Defense attorney Jeffrey Lichtman praised U.S. and Mexican authorities and plans to seek a lighter sentence. The Department of Justice, led by Pam Bondi, celebrated: 'Two Chapitos down, two to go,' referring to El Chapo's other sons. Ovidio Guzmán López pleaded guilty in July to similar charges, while 'El Chapo' serves life since 2019. Zambada pleaded guilty in August in New York. The brothers lead a Sinaloa Cartel faction designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. The kidnapping sparked violence in Sinaloa between cartel factions.
