El Chapo's son Ovidio Guzman Lopez pleads guilty to US drug charges

12/7/2025 13:47

A son of imprisoned Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman pleaded guilty on Friday to four criminal counts in two related drug trafficking cases targeting the notorious Sinaloa Cartel.



Ovidio Guzman Lopez, 35, pleaded guilty to two counts of drug distribution and two counts of participation in a continuing criminal enterprise before U.S. District Judge Sharon Coleman in Chicago. He faces a possible life sentence.



Wearing an orange jumpsuit and speaking softly through an interpreter, he admitted to a litany of crimes outlined in a pair of federal indictments, including murder, kidnapping and bribery.



His next court appearance will be in six months.



In indictments filed in New York and Chicago, prosecutors allege Ovidio Guzman Lopez and his brothers -- known as the "Chapitos," or little Chapos -- revived the Sinaloa Cartel after their father's arrest in 2016 by embracing fentanyl, reaping hundreds of millions of dollars in profits by sending the deadly opioid to the U.S.