Ovidio Guzmán, El Chapo's son, extradited to the US
The "leader of the Sinaloa Cartel" is back in the U.S. thanks to "police cooperation between the U.S. and Mexico." He departed Mexico and landed in Chicago on Friday afternoon, according to CNN.
Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that the extradition of drug trafficker Ovidio Guzmán – son of Mexican drug lord Joaquín El Chapo Guzmán – to the United States is now official.
Ovidio Guzmán — nicknamed El Ratón — left Mexico and landed in Chicago on Friday afternoon, Joseph D. Fitzpatrick, assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, told CNN.
In a statement released by the Department of Justice (DOJ), Garland called Guzmán the "leader of the Sinaloa Cartel" and stated that the extradition was the "result of police cooperation between the United States and Mexico." He added that "this action is the latest step in the Department of Justice's effort to target all aspects of the cartel's operations."
Two arrests and extradition requests
In 2019, Guzmán was arrested in Culiacán, Mexico. His arrest was very brief. President, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, ordered his release after the Sinaloa Cartel threatened to go on a civilian killing spree if he was not freed.
After this event, Guzmán was captured again on January 5, 2023, in Sinaloa during an Armed Forces operation that left 29 dead, 10 of which were military personnel. Violent riots broke out in the region.
Guzmán is wanted by a D.C. court. He was charged with drug trafficking and conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana. The extradition had been provisionally suspended, so it became a tough court battle that will conclude with his next appearances in US courts. The date has yet to be determined.
The recent release of El Chapo's wife
Just this week, the Federal Bureau of Prisons reported on the release of Emma Coronel – El Chapo's wife and Ovidio's stepmother – from a social rehabilitation center in Long Beach (California) where she was being held.
Coronel's release came after serving her sentence on drug trafficking and money laundering charges linked to the Sinaloa Cartel. In February 2021, she was arrested in Virginia for drug trafficking. In June of that same year, she pleaded guilty to three charges including international drug trafficking and money laundering and a criminal violation of the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (the Kingpin Act).
Coronel was released and will be on supervised release for four years.