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Ovidio Guzmán López

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Guzmán and the second or maternal family name is López.

Ovidio Guzmán López
Wanted Poster, Ovidio Guzmán López
Born
Ovidio Guzmán López

(1990-03-29) 29 March 1990 (age 34)
Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico
Other namesEl Ratón
El Nuevo Ratón
OrganizationSinaloa Cartel (suspected)[1]
Height5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
Criminal statusIncarcerated
ParentJoaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán
RelativesJoaquín Guzmán López (brother), Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar (half-brother), Jesus Alfredo Guzmán Salazar (half-brother)
Criminal chargeConspiracy to Distribute 5 Kilograms or More of Cocaine, 500 Grams or More of Methamphetamine, and 1,000 Kilograms or More of Marijuana, Intending and Knowing that such substances will be Unlawfully Imported into the United States (Title 21 U.S.C. §§ 960(b)(1)(B)(ii), 960(b)(H), and 960(b)(1)(G))
Penalty10 years (Mandatory minimum) to Life
Reward amount
US$5,000,000
Capture status
Extradited to U.S.
Wanted by
Mexico FGR
United States FBI, HSI
Details
CountryMexico
Date apprehended
5 January 2023
Imprisoned atMCC Chicago (pretrial)

Ovidio Guzmán López (born 29 March 1990) is a Mexican former drug lord and high-ranking member of the Sinaloa Cartel, a criminal group based in the state of Sinaloa. He is the son of another drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, once considered Mexico's most-wanted drug lord and the world's most-wanted criminal. Guzmán López was suspected of being a leader within a Sinaloa Cartel faction often referred to as Los Chapitos, Los Menores, and/or Los Juniors.[2]

He was captured on 5 January 2023 and remanded to Federal Social Readaptation Center No. 1, until he was extradited to the US on 15 September 2023, where he is currently awaiting trial.[3][4][5]

Early life

[edit]

Guzmán López was born 29 March 1990 and is a son of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán with his second wife.[6][7][8][9] He was raised in Mexico City and spent four years of his education at a school run by the Legionaries of Christ. This biography states that Guzmán López's mother took him out of the school when the families of his classmates excluded him from a school trip.[10]

A U.S. grand jury indictment alleges Guzmán López has been involved in his father's drug trafficking business since 2008, when he was a teenager.[11][12]

Career

[edit]

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury named him a "Key Lieutenant" of his father and the Sinaloa Cartel in a 2012 sanctions Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act ("Kingpin Act").[13][14]

It is widely reported that Guzmán López took on a prominent role of the Sinaloa Cartel after his father's arrest.[15][16] In 2019, the Associated Press reported that he leads the cartel along with his brothers Iván Archivaldo Guzmán, Jesús Alfredo Guzmán, and Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada.[1]

In July 2017, the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia empaneled a grand jury that formally indicted both Ovidio Guzmán López and his brother Joaquín Guzmán López on charges of participating in a conspiracy to traffic cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana since 2008. The sealed indictment was filed 2 April 2018.[11]

On 12 December 2018, the indictment was unsealed for the limited purpose of disclosure in an extradition proceeding pursuant to the Jencks Act.[17] Judge Rudolph Contreras ordered the full unsealing of the indictment on 13 February 2019.[18]

2019 capture and release

[edit]
See also: Battle of Culiacán

On 17 October 2019, members of the National Guard briefly arrested Ovidio Guzmán López in Culiacán, Sinaloa, setting off several gun battles in the city.[19][15][20] Heavily armed[21][22] cartel gunmen (numbering over 600) threatened mass civilian deaths,[23][24] including an attack to the apartment complex housing the relatives of the local military personnel.[25][26][27] Hours later, Ovidio Guzmán was freed,[28] with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador saying he supported the decision in order to "prevent more bloodshed".[29][30][31] López Obrador later said he ordered the release to prevent the killing of 200 people.[32]

On 8 May 2020, Santiago Nieto, head of Mexico's Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF), confirmed that the Government of Mexico froze Ovidio Guzmán's assets, stating, "We have frozen the accounts of Ovidio and of 330 people linked to the cartel and have filed a complaint with the Prosecutor's Office. We have also found irregularities."[33][34]

2023 recapture

[edit]

On 5 January 2023, the authorities arrested Guzmán López in the Jesús María district of Culiacán.[35][36] The arrest was credited to a joint intelligence effort between Mexico and the US military named Operation Mongoose Azteca. US Intelligence spent months intercepting communications between members of the Cartel. Mexico authorities were able to use that information to locate the movements of Ovidio.[37] According to eyewitness accounts, Guzmán López had a family party the evening before he was arrested. The military executed a pre-dawn raid on Guzmán López's residence that used a helicopter and convoy of ground vehicles and apprehended him within 10 hours of entry.[38]

Reports of his arrest were later confirmed by Defense Secretary Luis Cresencio Sandoval, who stated that personnel from the Army, National Guard, Secretariat of National Defense and Secretariat of the Navy had captured him and also managed to successfully transport him to Mexico City, where he was then taken to offices of the Attorney General's organized crime special prosecutor.[39][2]

The Air Force then flew Guzmán López by helicopter to the Federal Social Readaptation Center No. 1 ("Altiplano"), a maximum security federal prison in Almoloya de Juárez, later that afternoon.[40] An additional 17 suspected cartel members were also taken into custody in the initial operation.[41]

In a press conference, Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard confirmed that there was an extradition request for Guzmán López to face trial in the United States, but Ebrard noted that he was also facing criminal charges in Mexico.[2] The day after his arrest, a federal judge placed Guzmán López under a 60-day preventive detention to allow U.S. authorities to formally petition for his extradition.

Violence in Sinaloa and Sonora

[edit]
Main article: 2023 Sinaloa unrest

Following the arrest, the U.S. Consulate in Hermosillo shared that it had received reports of gunfire, roadblocks, and fires throughout the cities of Culiacán, Los Mochis, and Guasave. The Consulate reiterated the United States Department of State's highest level of travel advisory cautioning against travel to Sinaloa.[42] Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha Moya called for the public to shelter in place.[43]

Unrest led to the closure of Culiacán International Airport as two planes at the airport—an airliner operated by Aeroméxico and a military aircraft—took gunfire. Shootouts were also reported on the runway.[44][45] Aeroméxico diverted planes away from the international airports in Los Mochis and Mazatlán as well.[46] Attacks on two trucks on Highway 15 in neighboring Sonora prompted Aeroméxico to also cancel flights from Ciudad Obregón International Airport.[47] Regular service at all the affected airports was restored during the morning of 6 January.[48]

Looting was reported in parts of Culiacán, and numerous businesses and banks announced temporary closures across the state.[49] Journalists in the area reported multiple carjackings and demands for car keys.[45]

Ten soldiers, 19 gang members, and one police officer were killed during the unrest.[50][51][52][53] Among the victims were an infantry colonel and his four escorts, who were ambushed and killed by cartel members in Escuinapa, Sinaloa.[54]

A report issued by the Secretariat of National Defense put the forces used in the operation at 3,586 soldiers.[55][56] The Secretariat also claimed that in the course of the operation "four .50 caliber Barrett rifles, six 50 caliber machine guns, 26 long arms, 2 handguns, magazines, cartridges, various tactical equipment and 13 operational vehicles" were seized.[56]

Post-recapture

[edit]
OFAC chart of relationships of persons and corporations designated for Kingpin Act international sanctions.

Following Guzmán López's capture, the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control applied sanctions pursuant to Executive Order 14059 against individuals and corporations of Sinaloa Cartel's networks supplying drug precursors for illicit manufacture of methamphetamine and fentanyl in so-called super-laboratories. These are defined by OFAC as "large-scale drug laboratories that produce 10 or more pounds of an illicit drug per production cycle". The targets included Luis Gerardo Flores Madrid, said to be a subordinate of Guzmán López.[57][58]

A parallel press announcement by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the sanctions as "part of a whole-of-government effort to disrupt and dismantle the transnational criminal organizations that facilitate the illicit supply of fentanyl and other narcotics".[59]

On the same day as these announcements, the docket of the U.S. criminal case against Guzmán López was updated, with the trial attorney of the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section of the Department of Justice substituting as Government counsel of record.[60]

On 28 February 2023, CBS News, Agence France-Presse, and Reuters quoted unnamed sources in the Mexican government as stating that the United States has formally requested Guzmán López's extradition.[61][62]

On 15 September 2023, the government of Mexico extradited Guzmán López to the United States to face drug trafficking charges. U.S Attorney General Merrick Garland described the extradition as "the most recent step in the Justice Department's effort to attack every aspect of the cartel's operations".[63][64][65][66]

On 23 July 2024, two days before the arrests of Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada and Ovidio's brother Joaquín Guzmán López, the Bureau of Prisons inmate records showed his status as released. The U.S. Department of Justice said that he remains in custody.[67]

During the hearing on 21 October 2024, it was confirmed that Guzmán and his brother were negotiating a plea deals and would be represented by same attorney. Their next hearing is scheduled for January 7, 2025.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Villarreal, Andrés; Verza, María (18 October 2019). "Gun battles rattle Mexican city after troops find Chapo's son". Associated Press News. Archived from the original on 19 October 2019. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  2. ^ a b c Verza, María; Sherman, Christopher (5 January 2022). "Mexico nabs son of drug lord 'El Chapo' before Biden visit". Associated Press. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  3. ^ Laurent, Anne; Rivers, Matt; Katersky, Aaron (5 January 2023). "Ovidio Guzman, son of El Chapo and alleged major fentanyl trafficker, arrested in Mexico". ABC News. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  4. ^ "Guzmán López, "El Ratón", arriba al Cefereso 1, el de más alta seguridad en México". SinEmbargo MX (in Spanish). 6 January 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  5. ^ Janowitz, Nathaniel; Chaparro, Luis; Green, Emily (6 January 2023). "El Chapo's Son 'El Bebe' Is the Weakest Link in the Sinaloa Cartel". Vice.com. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  6. ^ "¿Quién es Ovidio Guzmán López, el hijo de "El Chapo"?". La Razón (in Spanish). 17 October 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  7. ^ "Ovidio Guzmán: de "niño bien" a narco". Milenio (in Spanish). 30 October 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  8. ^ "En su visita a Badiraguato, AMLO saludó a la mamá del Chapo Guzmán" (in Spanish). Aristegui Noticias. 29 March 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  9. ^ Linthicum, Kate (19 October 2019). "Did jailing 'El Chapo' matter? In seizing a city, the Sinaloa cartel shows it's still strong". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 20 October 2019. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  10. ^ Domínguez, Alejandro (30 October 2019). "Ovidio Guzmán estudió en colegio de los Legionarios de Cristo". Grupo Milenio (in Mexican Spanish). Retrieved 6 January 2023.
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  18. ^ "Order on Motion to Unseal Document" (PDF), United States of America v. Joaquín Guzmán López (Court Filing), no. 1:18-cr-00081, Docket 9, Attachment 0, D.D.C., 2 April 2022, retrieved 12 April 2022 – via Recap (PACER current docket viewPaid subscription required)
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  32. ^ https://elpais.com/internacional/2020-06-19/lopez-obrador-admite-que-ordeno-la-liberacion-del-hijo-del-chapo-guzman.html
  33. ^ "El Gobierno de López Obrador le congeló cuentas millonarias a Ovidio Guzmán, hijo del "Chapo"". infobae. 7 May 2020.
  34. ^ "Juez da 60 días de prisión preventiva a Ovidio Guzmán mientras EU solicita su extradición". Proceso. 6 January 2023.
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  44. ^ "Mexican airline Aeromexico says a plane was hit by gunfire, no reported injuries". NBC News. 5 January 2023. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  45. ^ a b Ferri, Pablo (6 January 2023). "Shootouts, burned-out cars and closed airports: Los Chapitos terrorize Culiacán after Ovidio Guzmán arrest". EL PAÍS English Edition. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  46. ^ Plaza, Fidel Gutierrez,Mitchell McCluskey,Tara John,Elizabeth (5 January 2023). "Mexican authorities arrest son of notorious drug lord 'El Chapo'". CNN. Retrieved 5 January 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  47. ^ "Aeropuerto y autobuses de Sonora suspenden operaciones por disturbios tras captura de Ovidio Guzmán". El Universal. 5 January 2023.
  48. ^ "Aeropuertos de Culiacán, Mazatlán y Los Mochis normalizan operaciones". Aristegui Noticias. 6 January 2023.
  49. ^ "IDEOS. Saquean comercios tras detención de Ovidio Guzmán". El Universal. 5 January 2023.
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  54. ^ "Matan a coronel en emboscada tras detención de Ovidio Guzmán; reportan otros 4 muertos". El Universal. 5 January 2023.
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  59. ^ Blinken, Anthony (22 February 2023). "U.S. to Sanction Sinaloa Cartel Network of Fentanyl Suppliers Contributing to the U.S. Opioid Crisis". state.gov. United States Department of State.
  60. ^ "Notice of Substitution of Counsel" (PDF), United States of America v. Ovidio Guzman Lopez (Court Filing), no. 1:18-cr-00081, Docket 11, D.D.C., 22 February 2023, retrieved 24 February 2023 – via Recap (PACER current docket viewPaid subscription required)
  61. ^ Diaz, Lizbeth (28 February 2023). "U.S. requests extradition of Ovidio Guzman, son of 'El Chapo', from Mexico -sources". Reuters. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  62. ^ "U.S. requests extradition of Ovidio Guzman, son of "El Chapo," Mexico says". CBS News. 28 February 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  63. ^ "US: Mexico extradites Ovidio Guzmán López, son of Sinaloa cartel leader 'El Chapo,' to United States". AP News. 16 September 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  64. ^ "Office of Public Affairs | Statement from Attorney General Merrick B. Garland on the Extradition of Ovidio Guzman Lopez from Mexico to the United States | United States Department of Justice". www.justice.gov. 15 September 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  65. ^ "Son of drug kingpin 'El Chapo' extradited to United States". NBC News. 16 September 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  66. ^ Zerega, Georgina (16 September 2023). "Ovidio Guzmán, hijo de El Chapo, extraditado a Estados Unidos por narcotráfico". El País México (in Mexican Spanish). Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  67. ^ Tabachnick, Cara; Triay, Andres (26 July 2024). "Powerful cartel leader was duped by El Chapo's son into flying to U.S., sources say - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
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