Los Chapitos | What is known about the agreement they are negotiating with the United States justice system and what benefits they would receive in exchange

The brothers Ovidio and Joaquín Guzmán López, sons of the imprisoned drug trafficker Joaquín ‘El Chapo Guzmán’are in talks with the federal prosecutor’s office in Chicago, USAto reach a plea deal in exchange for benefits. This was confirmed on Monday by their defense attorney, Jeffrey Lichtman, after a brief hearing.

Ovidio and Joaquín Guzmán López are two of the four leaders of Los Chapitos, one of the factions of the powerful Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico. The other two are his brothers Iván Archivaldo and Jesús Alfredo, who are free.

“Today we simply discussed the status of the case and revealed that there are negotiations to reach an agreement (with the United States Government), which is not really surprising because it is something that is done in all types of cases.“, the lawyer confirmed to Noticias Telemundo Lichtman.

Ovidio Guzmán, alias ‘El Ratón’, 34 years old, was extradited to the United States in September 2023 to face charges of conspiring to distribute drugs, being part of a criminal enterprise, exporting narcotics to the United States, carrying out financial transactions with the proceeds of illegal activities and illicitly using and carrying firearms. He has pleaded not guilty.

Joaquín Guzmán López38 years old, was arrested on July 25 when he arrived at USA with Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambadaone of the founders of Sinaloa Cartel and who said it had been kidnapped by El Chapo’s son and handed over to US authorities.

On Joaquín Guzmán López accusations for drug traffickingmoney laundering and violations of the weapons law, crimes for which He pleaded not guilty.

According to the EFE agency, Ovidio attended a hearing in a federal court in Chicago this Mondaywhich lasted for 15 minutes, as part of the process against him with a view to a trial if a prior plea agreement was not reached.

Telemundo said that on Monday the prosecution, along with the defense, asked for more time to reach some kind of agreement to avoid a trial. The next hearing will be on January 7, 2025.

The lawyer Lichtman rejected speculation that there is already an agreement with the Government of USA in exchange for the freedom of both.

The American media also reported that Ovidio Guzmán arrived at the hearing with chains on his ankles and orange clothingglasses on and headphones. He used a translator to communicate with the jueza Johnson Coleman.

Before Monday’s appointment, The Guzmán López brothers had been transferred from prisons, generating speculation about his whereabouts in recent months.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons record showed that Ovid He was released from prison on July 23, 2024, two days before the capture of his brother and The Mayo Zambada.

For its part, Mayo Zambada faces the possibility of the death penalty. He is accused of 17 crimes for drug trafficking and murder.

The benefits that Los Chapitos would receive

Los Chapitos They took charge of the Sinaloa Cartel along with El Mayo Zambada and Dámaso López Núñez, alias ‘Licenciado’, after the arrest of El Chapo Guzmán, who was extradited to the United States and sentenced to life imprisonment.

What could Ovidio and Joaquín be negotiating? Both would have to agree with the Prosecutor’s Office to plead guilty and cooperate with the United States authorities in exchange for a reduction in their sentence, as other drug traffickers who have faced justice in the United States have already done. Some have even already been released.

The Guzmán brothers would have to betray their former partners to obtain benefits.

The war in Culiacán due to the betrayal of El Mayo

In Mexicoas a result of the betrayal of El Mayo Zambada, Los Chapitos and the men of this 76-year-old boss have been waging a war since last September 9 that has left numerous dead and plunged the city of Los Angeles into chaos. Culiacan.

According to journalist Ioan Grillo, author of the book “El Narco, in the heart of the Mexican criminal insurgency,” on September 2, several drug trafficking bosses arrived at a ranch in a place known as Los Sitios, in Sinaloato finalize the war plans against Los Chapitos. At the head of the meeting was Ismael Zambada Sicairos, or ‘Mayito Flaco’, El Mayo’s 42-year-old son.

According to Grillo, the meeting was also attended by Fausto Isidro Meza Flores, known as Chapo Isidroa major drug trafficker based in the city of Guasavein the north of Sinaloa.

Another of the attendees was José Gil Caro Quinteroknown as ‘Pelo Chino’ or ‘Curly’, cousin of Rafael Caro Quintero.

At that meeting they sealed an alliance against Los Chapitos and finalized details for the revengeclaims Grillo. El Chapo Isidro and Caro Quintero promised to send hitmen, money and weapons to support Mayito Flaco.

Ioan Grillo maintained on his CrashOut portal that his source was an operator close to Caro Quintero’s faction in Sonora.

“They want to fumigate the Chapitos,” the source said. “There is going to be a lot of violence.”

Until the first days of October, The war already left at least 150 people murderedaccording to figures from the state prosecutor’s office Sinaloa.

The menu from El Mayo Zambada

The Prosecutor’s Office Mexico has announced that it is studying the possibility of filing charges for treason against Guzmán López or anyone involved in the delivery of El Mayo Zambada to the United States.

The AP agency indicated that the unusual investigation by betrayal of the country It is based on an article by Mexican Penal Code that establishes sentences of up to 40 years in prison for that crime.

That article classifies as treason attacking Mexico in the name of a foreign power, serving a foreign army, and also establishes that the norm applies to “those who illegally kidnap a person in Mexico to hand them over to authorities in another country.”

In a letter made public in early August by the lawyer Frank Perezwho defends El Mayo Zambada, He recounted how he was betrayed, kidnapped and handed over to the United States.

“I wish to say from the beginning that I did not surrender and that I did not voluntarily come to the United States. Nor did it have any agreement with either government. On the contrary, I was kidnapped and brought to the United States by force and against my will.”says the letter.

“Joaquín Guzmán López asked me to attend a meeting to help resolve differences between the political leaders of our state. I was aware of an ongoing dispute between Rubén Rocha Moya, governor of Sinaloa, and Héctor Melesio Cuén Ojeda, former federal deputy, mayor of Culiacán and rector of the Autonomous University of Sinaloa (UAS), about who should lead that institution. They told me that in addition to Héctor Cuén and Governor Rocha Moyawould also be present at the meeting “Iván Guzmán Salazar”.

“On July 25, I went to the ranch and events center called Pedregal Orchards, on the outskirts of Culiacanwhere the meeting would take place. The meeting was scheduled for 11:00 am and I arrived a little early. I saw a large number of armed men in green military uniforms I assumed they were gunmen Joaquin Guzman and his brothers. I was accompanied by four security personnel, two of whom stayed outside the perimeter. The two who entered with me were José Rosario Heras López, commander of the Judicial Police of the State of Sinaloa, and Rodolfo Chaidez, a long-time member of my security team.”.

“As I walked towards the meeting area, I saw Héctor Cuén and one of his assistants. I greeted them briefly before entering a room that had a table full of fruit. I saw Joaquín Guzmán López, whom I have known since I was a child, and he gestured for me to follow him. Trusting the nature of the meeting and the people involved, I followed him without hesitation. “They took me to another dark room.”

“As soon as I stepped foot inside, they ambushed me.”. A group of men assaulted me, threw me to the ground and placed a dark-colored hood over my head. They tied me up and handcuffed me, and then forced me into the bed of a pickup truck. Throughout this ordeal, I was subjected to physical abuse, which caused significant injuries to my back, knee and wrists. “Then they took me to a landing strip about 20 or 25 minutes away, where they forced me to board a private plane.”.

“Joaquín removed the hood from my head and tied me to the seat with zip ties. There was no one on the plane except Joaquín, the pilot and me. The flight lasted between 2 ½ and 3 hours, non-stop, until we reached El Paso, Texas. It was there, on the track, where the American federal agents arrested me. The idea that I surrendered or cooperated voluntarily is completely and unequivocally false. “They brought me to this country by force and under duress, without my consent and against my will.”

“I am aware that the official version of the authorities of the state of Sinaloa is that Héctor Cuén was shot on the night of July 25 at a gas station by two men on a motorcycle who wanted to steal his truck. “That’s not what happened.”

“He was murdered at the same time, and in the same place, where I was kidnapped. Héctor Cuén was a friend of mine for a long time, and I deeply regret his death, as well as the disappearance of José Rosario Heras López and Rodolfo Chaidez, whom no one has seen or heard from again. “No one has heard from them again.”

“This is what happened and not the false stories that are circulating,” said ‘El Mayo’ Zambada.