Joaquín Guzmán López, son of Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán Loera, pleaded guilty to two counts of drug trafficking and organized crime for his participation in the Los Chapitos cell of the Sinaloa Cartel, before Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman in the Northern District Court of Illinois.
He also admitted to participating in the 2014 kidnapping of Ismael Zambada García, ‘El Mayo’, to take him to the United States.
What happened during the hearing?
Guzmán López appeared at his plea hearing before Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman, dressed in an orange jumpsuit, a white t-shirt underneath, with short hair and his beard almost completely shaved.
Surprisingly, he decided not to use an interpreter. El Chapo Guzmán’s son speaks and understands fluent English. During his court appearance, the drug trafficker admitted his crimes:
Judge: “Where did you live before coming here, Mr. Guzmán?”
Joaquín Guzmán López: “In Sinaloa, Mexico.”
Judge: “Are you married?”
Joaquín Guzmán López: “I’m married.”
Judge: “What did you do before coming here?”
Joaquín Guzmán López: “I was a drug trafficker… I studied finance, but I didn’t work in the field.”
Judge: “I suppose that helped you…”
For nearly half an hour, Judge Johnson ensured that Guzmán López, who was expected to use an interpreter, understood what he was doing, that he hadn’t been pressured or coerced into pleading guilty, and that he was physically and mentally fit to accept responsibility.
Attentive and barely moving, he answered the questions with a “Yes, your honor.”
What was the agreement he reached with the U.S.?
Once the judge declared him competent, the lead prosecutor in the case, Andrew Erskine, read the plea agreement, previously signed by Joaquín Guzmán López, his lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman, and the prosecution.
“It was part of the conspiracy that, following the 2016 arrest and 2017 extradition of (Joaquín) Guzmán Loera, the defendants Joaquín Guzmán López, Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar, Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar, and Ovidio Guzmán López, assumed their father’s former role as leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, along with (Ismael) Zambada García and Dámaso López Núñez,” the U.S. government representative read.
Judge: “There’s your name. Did you sign it?”
Joaquín Guzmán López: “Yes, Your Honor.”
“Furthermore, there’s a cooperation provision,” said prosecutor Erskine, “if the defendant continues to cooperate (…) we will request a reduction of the prison sentence from life imprisonment. In addition, there’s an $80 million asset forfeiture clause.”
The indictment, explained the U.S. Attorney’s Office, covers the period from May 2008, when Joaquín Guzmán López allegedly began operating with Los Chapitos, until at least 2021. He coordinated the transport of cocaine through Central and South America to Mexico using various boats and aircraft, and then coordinated its trafficking to the United States using vehicles, trains, and even cross-border tunnels.
