Son of Mexican Drug Kingpin ‘El Chapo’ Pleads Guilty to US Drug Charges

Prosecutors alleged that Ovidio Guzman Lopez succeeded his father as one of the leaders of the Sinaloa cartel.

Ovidio Guzman Lopez being detained in Culiacan, Mexico, on Oct. 17, 2019. Cepropie/AP

A son of Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman has pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges in a federal court, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Illinois.

Ovidio Guzman Lopez, 35, pleaded guilty to two counts of drug conspiracy and two counts of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, the office said in a July 11 press release. He has been in U.S. custody since his extradition from Mexico in 2023.