Los Chapitos buy time in negotiations to reach a plea agreement | International

He future of Los Chapitos remains uncertain. On Tuesday, US authorities and lawyers representing the children of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán requested additional time to finalize plea agreement negotiations. During the latest hearing in the Northern District of Illinois Court in Chicago, both sides emphasized their focus on securing guilty pleas from the defendants to avoid a trial. Prosecutors expressed optimism about reaching a deal with Ovidio Guzmán, also known as “El Ratón,” before February 27, the date of the next court hearing. However, discussions regarding Joaquín Guzmán, alias “El Güero,” are expected to take longer, with the next hearing set for March 19.

This extension extends speculation about whether the two drug traffickers will enter into formal negotiations with U.S. authorities, potentially cooperating by providing information on other Mexican cartel leaders in exchange for reduced sentences or other legal benefits.

Prosecutors said they are actively collaborating with the Guzman family’s legal representatives and remain optimistic about reaching a plea deal that would resolve the case without proceeding to trial. However, they pointed out a major point of contention: Ovidio Guzmán also faces drug trafficking and other charges in New York. Both sides are still negotiating whether the plea deal being worked out in Illinois will also cover the New York case. In the case of Ovidio Guzmán, the critical question is whether the prosecution and defense can reach an agreement on this issue. Authorities anticipate a decision from the youngest member of Los Chapitos, 34, within six weeks.

El Ratón, a leading figure in the Sinaloa Cartel faction led by El Chapo’s sons, was apprehended in January 2023 and extradited to the United States in September of the same year.

Authorities justified a longer extension in the case of Joaquín Guzmán, 38, alleging that his negotiations are more recent than those of his brother, Ovidio. Known as El Güero, he surrendered on July 25 after arriving at a rural airport near El Paso. He was captured along Ismael “El Mayo” Zambadaa former associate of El Chapo.

Both Joaquín and Ovidio, along with their brothers Iván Archivaldo and Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar, face charges in the United States for drug trafficking, organized crime, money laundering and illegal possession of firearms. These positions were formally announced in April 2023.

Los Chapitos’ defense team had already indicated on October 21, after Ovidio Guzmán’s last court hearing in Chicago, that its clients were considering pleading guilty. However, neither Joaquín nor Ovidio attended the most recent hearing, despite being summoned by Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman. His main lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman, was also absent due to scheduling conflicts, according to judicial sources consulted by EL PAÍS.

Uncertainty hangs over the legal fate of El Chapo’s children, compounded by the upcoming presidential transition in the United States under the Trump administration – who has promised a tough approach against cartels – and the anticipated restructuring of key federal agencies. “In 20 days, we won’t know which office is going to do what,” Judge Coleman said during the hearing. The phrase “I don’t understand anything” was also heard on some occasions due to technical difficulties in establishing a telephone link with the Guzmáns’ lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman. The defendants were not present at the hearing and will be briefed later by their legal team, according to sources.

Meanwhile, in Mexico, Joaquín Guzmán has been accused by the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) of orchestrating the kidnapping of el mayo. He has been controversially accused of “treason” for allegedly handing Zambada over to US authorities. The FGR also announced in late August that it was also investigating Ovidio Guzmán’s possible role in the alleged plot. However, lawyers for the Guzmán family have consistently denied any conspiracy against Zambada, dismissing the accusations as unfounded.

Since the scandal surrounding the fall of El Mayo, rumors of alleged betrayal within the Sinaloa Cartelone of the most powerful criminal organizations in the world, have been circulating. Mexican authorities have even adopted this hypothesis as their main line of investigation. After weeks of tension and fears of revenge, the two families (the Guzmán and Zambada factions) have become embroiled in an internal power struggle for control of the cartel. This conflict has fueled violence in Culiacánthe historic stronghold of the cartel in northwest Mexico, since September.

Next week it will be Zambada’s turn in court, with a hearing scheduled for January 15 in New York before Judge Brian Cogan, the same one who sentenced El Chapo to life in prison. Both cases are still far from their final chapters, in a context of growing diplomatic tensions, escalating violence in Sinaloa and Trump’s imminent return to the White House on January 20.

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