MEXICO CITY — The Justice Department announced Friday that Joaquin Guzmán’s son, Ovidio Guzmán López, was extradited from Mexico to the U.S.
“Today, as a result of United States and Mexico law enforcement cooperation, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, a leader of the Sinaloa Cartel was extradited to the United States. This action is the most recent step in the Justice Department’s effort to attack every aspect of the cartel’s operations. The fight against the cartels has involved incredible courage by United States law enforcement and Mexican law enforcement and military servicemembers, many of whom have given their lives in the pursuit of justice,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement.
“I am grateful to them and to the Department’s prosecutors for their work and their sacrifice. I am also grateful to our Mexican government counterparts for this extradition. The Justice Department will continue to hold accountable those responsible for fueling the opioid epidemic that has devastated too many communities across the country.”
Guzmán López, 32, reportedly took over the Sinaloa cartel after his father, Joaquin Guzmán, also known as El Chapo, was arrested seven years ago, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Security forces in Mexico captured Guzmán López in January in Culiacan, according to The Associated Press.
Culiacan is the capital of Sinaloa state. Guzmán López’s alias is “the Mouse.”
About three years before, there was an attempt to capture Guzmán López but the operation was aborted after violence started in Culican by allies of his cartel, the AP reported.
His arrest in January set off similar violence, the AP reported. 30 people were killed, including 10 military personnel.
Indictments were unsealed in April by U.S. prosecutors. The AP reported that the indictments were against Guzmán López and his brothers, who are known “Chapitos.” It was laid out in detail the brothers’ plan to move the cartel into synthetic drugs such as methamphetamine and opioid fentanyl following their father’s arrest.
An indictment that was unsealed in Manhattan claimed that the brothers’ goal was to produce huge amounts of fentanyl and to try to sell it at a lower cost, the AP reported. Prosecutors said that fentanyl became so cheap when sold wholesale that the cartel made tons of profit from it.