Son of drug notorious cartel leader “El Chapo” won’t face death penalty if convicted, U.S. says

Federal prosecutors will not search the demise penalty for the son of infamous Mexican drug kingpin “El Chapo” if he is convicted of a number of costs in Chicago.

U.S. Lawyer Andrew Boutros filed a one-sentence discover Friday saying he wouldn’t search the demise penalty towards Joaquin Guzman Lopez. The discover didn’t supply any rationalization.

Joaquin Guzman Lopez’s lawyer, listed in on-line court docket information as Jeffrey Lichtman, mentioned in an e-mail to The Related Press on Tuesday that he was happy with the choice “because it’s the right one.”

“Joaquin and I are wanting ahead to resolving the fees towards him,” Lichtman mentioned.

Joaquin Guzman Lopez’s father is Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, former chief of the Sinaloa cartel. Based on federal prosecutors, El Chapo smuggled mountains of cocaine and different medication into the USA over 25 years. He was convicted in 2019 on a number of conspiracy counts and sentenced to life in a U.S. jail later that yr.

Prosecutors allege Joaquin Guzman Lopez and his brother, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, ran a faction of the cartel often called the “Chapitos,” or little Chapos, that has been recognized as a major exporter of fentanyl to the U.S. 

Prosecutors unsealed sweeping indictments in 2023 towards dozens of members of the Sinaloa cartel, together with the brothers. In accordance that indictment, the Chapitos and their cartel associates used corkscrews, electrocution and sizzling chiles to torture their rivals whereas a few of their victims had been “fed lifeless or alive to tigers.”

Federal authorities arrested Joaquin Guzman Lopez and one other longtime Sinaloa chief, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, in July in Texas after they landed within the U.S. on a non-public airplane.

Joaquin Guzman Lopez has been indicted on eight counts, together with cash laundering, drug dealing and conspiracy to distribute medication. He has pleaded not responsible.

Zambada has mentioned Joaquin Guzman Lopez kidnapped him and introduced him to the U.S. He faces a number of counts in federal court docket in New York, together with worldwide distribution of cocaine, cash laundering and manufacturing medication for unlawful importation. He has pleaded not responsible.

Ovidio Guzman Lopez was arrested in Mexico in 2023 and extradited to the USA. He is charged in federal court docket in Chicago with cash laundering, drug and firearm offenses. He has pleaded not responsible however on-line court docket information point out that he’s scheduled to seem in court docket on July 9 to alter his plea as a part of a take care of prosecutors.

Lichtman can also be representing Ovidio Guzman Lopez. He declined in an e-mail to supply any particulars about an settlement.

Earlier this month, Mexico’s safety chief confirmed that 17 members of the family of the cartel leaders crossed into the U.S. final week as a part of a deal between a son of the previous head of the Sinaloa Cartel and the Trump administration.

El Chapo’s ex-wife, Griselda Lopez Perez, and her daughter had been among the many members of the family to enter the U.S., native media reported.