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The Independent
27-05-2025
- General
- The Independent
US prosecutors won't seek death penalty for son of Mexican drug cartel leader 'El Chapo'
Federal prosecutors won't seek the death penalty for the son of notorious Mexican drug kingpin 'El Chapo' if he's convicted of multiple charges in Chicago. U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros filed a one-sentence notice Friday saying he would not seek the death penalty against Joaquin Guzman Lopez. The notice did not offer any explanation. Joaquin Guzman Lopez's attorney, listed in online court records as Jeffrey Lichtman, said in an email to The Associated Press on Tuesday that he was pleased with the decision 'as it's the correct one." 'Joaquin and I are looking forward to resolving the charges against him,' Lichtman said. Joaquin Guzman Lopez's father is Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, former leader of the Sinaloa cartel. According to federal prosecutors, El Chapo smuggled mountains of cocaine and other drugs into the United States over 25 years. He was convicted in 2019 on multiple conspiracy counts and sentenced to life in a U.S. prison later that year. Prosecutors allege Joaquin Guzman Lopez and his brother, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, ran a faction of the cartel known as the 'Chapitos,' or little Chapos, that has been identified as a main exporter of fentanyl to the U.S. Prosecutors unsealed sweeping indictments in 2023 against dozens of members of the Sinaloa cartel, including the brothers. Federal authorities arrested Joaquin Guzman Lopez and another longtime Sinaloa leader, Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada, in July in Texas after they landed in the U.S. on a private plane. Joaquin Guzman Lopez has been indicted on eight counts, including money laundering, drug dealing and conspiracy to distribute drugs. He has pleaded not guilty. Zambada has said Joaquin Guzman Lopez kidnapped him and brought him to the U.S. He faces multiple counts in federal court in New York, including international distribution of cocaine, money laundering and manufacturing drugs for illegal importation. He has pleaded not guilty. Ovidio Guzman Lopez was arrested in Mexico in 2023 and extradited to the United States. He's charged in federal court in Chicago with money laundering, drug and firearm offenses. He has pleaded not guilty but online court records indicate that he is scheduled to appear in court on July 9 to change his plea as part of a deal with prosecutors. Lichtman is also representing Ovidio Guzman Lopez. He declined in an email to provide any details about an agreement.
Associated Press
27-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
US prosecutors won't seek death penalty for son of Mexican drug cartel leader 'El Chapo'
Federal prosecutors won't seek the death penalty for the son of notorious Mexican drug kingpin 'El Chapo' if he's convicted of multiple charges in Chicago. U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros filed a one-sentence notice Friday saying he would not seek the death penalty against Joaquin Guzman Lopez. The notice did not offer any explanation. Joaquin Guzman Lopez's attorney, listed in online court records as Jeffrey Lichtman, said in an email to The Associated Press on Tuesday that he was pleased with the decision 'as it's the correct one.' 'Joaquin and I are looking forward to resolving the charges against him,' Lichtman said. Joaquin Guzman Lopez's father is Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, former leader of the Sinaloa cartel. According to federal prosecutors, El Chapo smuggled mountains of cocaine and other drugs into the United States over 25 years. He was convicted in 2019 on multiple conspiracy counts and sentenced to life in a U.S. prison later that year. Prosecutors allege Joaquin Guzman Lopez and his brother, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, ran a faction of the cartel known as the 'Chapitos,' or little Chapos, that has been identified as a main exporter of fentanyl to the U.S. Prosecutors unsealed sweeping indictments in 2023 against dozens of members of the Sinaloa cartel, including the brothers. Federal authorities arrested Joaquin Guzman Lopez and another longtime Sinaloa leader, Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada, in July in Texas after they landed in the U.S. on a private plane. Joaquin Guzman Lopez has been indicted on eight counts, including money laundering, drug dealing and conspiracy to distribute drugs. He has pleaded not guilty. Zambada has said Joaquin Guzman Lopez kidnapped him and brought him to the U.S. He faces multiple counts in federal court in New York, including international distribution of cocaine, money laundering and manufacturing drugs for illegal importation. He has pleaded not guilty. Ovidio Guzman Lopez was arrested in Mexico in 2023 and extradited to the United States. He's charged in federal court in Chicago with money laundering, drug and firearm offenses. He has pleaded not guilty but online court records indicate that he is scheduled to appear in court on July 9 to change his plea as part of a deal with prosecutors. Lichtman is also representing Ovidio Guzman Lopez. He declined in an email to provide any details about an agreement.
CTV News
27-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
El Chapo's son Guzman Lopez would not get death penalty if convicted, U.S. says
This image provided by the U.S. Department of State shows Joaquín Guzmán López. (U.S. Department of State via AP) NEW YORK — The U.S. will not seek the death penalty for a son of convicted Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, if he is convicted on U.S. drug trafficking charges of his own, prosecutors said in a court filing. In a court filing dated May 23, federal prosecutors in Chicago did not provide any explanation of the decision or any further details. Guzman Lopez was indicted in 2023 along with three of his brothers - known as the 'Chapitos,' or little Chapos - on U.S. drug trafficking and money laundering charges involving their assumption of leadership of their father's Sinaloa Cartel after his 2017 extradition to the United States. Guzman Lopez has pleaded not guilty. His lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Guzman Lopez was taken into U.S. custody in a dramatic July 2024 arrest alongside alleged Sinaloa Cartel co-founder Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada on a New Mexico airfield. The operation was a major coup for U.S. law enforcement. Zambada has also pleaded not guilty. In February, his lawyer told Reuters he would be willing to plead guilty if prosecutors agreed to spare him the death penalty. The elder Guzman is serving a life sentence at a maximum security prison in Colorado after his 2019 drug trafficking conviction. Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Chris Reese and Sandra Maler
CBS News
20-05-2025
- CBS News
Lions, elephants among the "narco pets," circus animals fleeing Mexico city eclipsed by cartel violence
A pack of veterinarians clambered over hefty metal crates on Tuesday morning, loading them one by one onto a fleet of semi-trucks. Among the cargo: tigers, monkeys, jaguars, elephants and lions — all fleeing the latest wave of cartel violence eclipsing the northern Mexican city of Culiacan. For years, exotic pets of cartel members and circus animals have been living in a small animal refuge on the outskirts of Sinaloa's capital. However, a bloody power struggle erupted last year between rival Sinaloa cartel factions, plunging the region into unprecedented violence and leaving the leaders of the Ostok Sanctuary reeling from armed attacks, constant death threats and a cutoff from essential supplies needed to keep their 700 animals alive. The aid organization is now leaving Culiacan and transporting the animals hours across the state in hopes that they'll escape the brunt of the violence. But fighting has grown so widespread in the region that many fear it will inevitably catch up. "We've never seen violence this extreme," said Ernesto Zazueta, president of the Ostok Sanctuary. "We're worried for the animals that come here to have a better future." Violence in the city exploded eight months ago when two rival Sinaloa Cartel factions began warring for territory after the dramatic kidnapping of Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, the leader of one of the groups, by a son of notorious capo Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán who then delivered him to U.S. authorities via a private plane. Zambada and "El Chapo's" son Joaquin Guzmán López were arrested when they landed in Texas. Since then, intense fighting between the heavily armed factions has become the new normal for civilians in Culiacan, a city that for years avoided the worst of Mexico's violence in large part because the Sinaloa Cartel maintained such complete control. "With the escalating war between the two factions of the Sinaloa Cartel, they have begun to extort, kidnap and rob cars because they need funds to finance their war," said security analyst David Saucedo. "And the civilians in Culiacan are the ones that suffer." A lioness is carried to a transport cage at the animal refuge Ostok Sanctuary, on the outskirts of Culiacan, Mexico, Monday, May 19, 2025. Felix Marquez / AP Animals scared by cartel fighting Zazueta, the sanctuary director, said their flight from the city is another sign of just how far the warfare has seeped into daily life. This week, refuge staff loaded up roaring animals onto a convoy as some trainers attempted to sooth the animals. One murmured in a soft voice as he fed a bag of carrots to an elephant in a shipping container, "I'm going to be right here, no one will do anything to you." Veterinarians and animals, accompanied by the Mexican National Guard, began traveling along the freeway to seaside Mazatlan, where they planned to release the animals into another wildlife reserve. The relocation came after months of planning and training the animals, a move made by the organization in an act of desperation. They said the sanctuary was caught in the crossfire of the warfare because of its proximity to the town of Jesús María, a stronghold of Los Chapitos, one of the warring factions. During intense periods of violence, staff at the sanctuary can hear gunshots echoing nearby, the roar of cars and helicopters overhead, something they say scares the animals. Cartel fighting regularly blocks staff off from reaching the sanctuary, and some animals have gone days without eating. Many have started to lose fur and at least two animals have died due to the situation, Zazueta said. Complicating matters is the fact that an increasing number of the animals they rescue are former narco pets left abandoned in rural swathes of the state. In one case, a Bengal tiger was discovered chained in a plaza, caught in the center of shootouts. Urban legends circulate in Sinaloa that capos feed their enemies to pet lions. The U.S. Justice Department alleged in an indictment released in 2023 that the sons of "El Chapo" and their cartel associates fed some of their victims "dead or alive to tigers." Diego García, a refuge staff member, is among those who travel out to rescue those animals. He said he regularly receives anonymous threats, with callers claiming to know his address and how to find him. He worries he'll be targeted for taking away the former pets of capos. Zazueta said the refuge also receives calls threatening to burn the sanctuary to the ground and kill the animals if payment isn't made. "There's no safe place left in this city these days," said García. That's the feeling for many in the city of 1 million. When the sun rises, parents check for news of shootouts as if it were the weather, to determine if it's safe to send their kids to school. Burned houses sit riddled with bullets and occasionally bodies appear hanging from bridges outside the city. By night, Culiacan turns into a ghost town, leaving bars and clubs shuttered and many without work. "My son, my son, I'm here. I'm not going to leave you alone," screamed one mother, sobbing on the side of the road and cursing officials as they inspected her son's dead body, splayed out and surrounded by bullet casings late Monday night. "Why do the police do nothing?" she cried out. "What are we doing here?" In February, while driving a refuge vehicle used for animal transport, García said he was forced from the car by an armed, masked man in an SUV. At gunpoint, they stole the truck, animal medicine and tools used by the group for rescues and left him trembling on the side of the road. The breaking point for the Ostok Sanctuary came in March, when one of the two elephants in their care, Bireki, injured her foot. Veterinarians scrambled to find a specialist to treat her in Mexico, the United States and beyond. No one would brave the trip to Culiacan. "We asked ourselves, 'what are we doing here?'" Zazueta said. "We can't risk this happening again. If we don't leave, who will treat them?" An elephant stands in a transport trailer at the animal refuge Ostok Sanctuary, on the outskirts of Culiacan, Mexico, Monday, May 19, 2025. Felix Marquez / AP The concern by many is that Mexico's crackdown on the cartels will be met with even more violent power moves by criminal organizations, as has happened in the past, said Saucedo, the security analyst. Zazueta blames local government and security forces for not doing more, and said their pleas for help in the past eight months have gone unanswered. Sinaloa's governor's office did not immediately respond to a request comment. The sanctuary made the move without any public announcement, worried that they might face repercussions from local officials or the same cartels forcing them to flee, but they hope the animals will find some relief in Mazatlan after years of conflict. García, the sanctuary staff member, is not so sure. While he hopes for the best, he said he's also watched cartel violence spread like a cancer across the Latin American country. Mazatlan, too, is also facing bursts of violence, though nothing compared to the Sinaloan capital. "It's at least more stable," he said. "Because here, today, it's just suffocating." Cartel violence is also frequent in the central state of Guanajuato, Mexico's most deadly state. This week, gunmen opened fire and killed seven people, including some minors, in a plaza in the city of San Felipe, police said. The violent crime is believed to be linked to conflict between the Santa Rosa de Lima gang and the Jalisco New Generation cartel, one of the most powerful in Mexico.
