El Chapo's ex-wife, daughter among 17 relatives who crossed US border in surprise deal: reports
It's a crime family affair.
The ex-wife of jailed Mexican drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman and 16 other relatives strolled across the US southern border as part of a secret plea deal with the feds, according to reports.
Griselda Lopez Perez, who was married to the notorious former Sinaloa drug cartel boss, her daughter and other kin entered the US at the Tijuana/San Diego crossing Friday — a move believed to be tied to the government's case against El Chapo's youngest son, Mexico News Daily reported.
5 Drug trafficker El Chapo's ex-wife and 16 other relatives entered the US Friday as part of a deal with the feds.
Blog del Narco
'It's clear that with his family going to the United States, it's connected to this negotiation or plea deal opportunity provided by the Department of Justice itself,' Mexican Security Secretary Omar Garcia Harfuch told the Spanish-language outlet Radio Formula on Wednesday.
Video footage posted on X by the outlet on Tuesday shows the drug trafficker's family lugging suitcases as they wait to be processed at the border — reportedly packing $70,000 in cash with them.
Griselda's son with the drug lord, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, a narcotrafficker known as 'El Raton,' or the Mouse, was extradited to the US in September 2023, eight months after he was captured in a massive raid by heavily armed Mexican police that left 29 dead.
5 Griselda Lopez Perez, the ex-wife of jailed drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, entered the US with 16 relatives.
5 Ovidio Guzman Lopez, the youngest son of jailed drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, is facing charges in Chicago.
Guzman Lopez, 35, is one of the four El Chapo sons known as 'Los Chapitos,' and was charged with drug trafficking, money laundering and other counts after being extradited to the US.
According to court records, he pleaded guilty to five counts in the federal indictment and was scheduled for a 'status hearing' in the case in Illinois on Monday — three days after his mom crossed the border.
However, those proceedings were scrapped, and he is now due to appear for a plea hearing on July 9.
US prosecutors have not revealed the terms of a possible plea offer nor how the family's arrival may be tied to it. The Mexican ministry told CNN that the relatives themselves were not wanted on charges there.
5 Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, once one of the world's most powerful drug traffickers, is serving life at a Colorado prison.
Newsflash
5 Ovidio Guzman's pending guilty plea is believed to be behind his family's deal with the FBI to enter the US.
Blog del Narco
The elder Guzman was once one of the most powerful drug traffickers in the world. Under his leadership, the Sinaloa cartel grew to one of the largest importers of narcotics into the US.
He was arrested and extradited to the US in 2017 and was later convicted on drug trafficking, money laundering and other charges and sentenced to life in prison.
He is being held at ADX Florence, a supermax prison in Colorado.
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