Latest news with #LosChapitos'
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump Struck Secret Deal With El Chapo's ‘Terrorist' Cartel
Nearly 20 family members of notorious drug lord Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán crossed the U.S. border thanks to a deal made with the Trump administration. The special access came after negotiations between the White House and El Chapo's son, Ovidio Guzmán Lopez, who is a top-ranking member of the Sinaloa Cartel, AP News reported late Tuesday. The criminal group is designated a foreign terrorist organization and a powerful drug trafficking and organized crime syndicate based in Mexico. Mexican security secretary Omar García Harfuch confirmed the group's entrance, explaining that the 17 individuals were family members of both former Sinaloa Cartel leader El Chapo and his son, who was extradited to the United States in 2023. Guzmán Lopez, 35, is currently locked up in the U.S. awaiting federal charges after he and his brothers flooded the country with fentanyl for hundreds of millions of dollars. He and his brothers' group was called 'Los Chapitos' or the little shorties, a reference to his father's nickname 'shorty.' Last week, the cartel's family members walked across the border from Tijuana with their suitcases to U.S. agents who were waiting for them there. 'It is evident that his family is going to the U.S. because of a negotiation or an offer that the Department of Justice is giving him,' García Harfuch said. The family members who entered the United States were not wanted by Mexican authorities, he said. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo told reporters that she was caught off guard by the news. The Mexican government has demanded President Donald Trump share information about the deal with Mexican prosecutors, which it has not yet done. The Daily Beast has reached out to the Trump administration for comment about the family members and their entrance. Guzmán Lopez and his brothers rebuilt their father's international drug empire after his extradition in 2017 and incarceration in 2019. El Chapo was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole and is incarcerated in Colorado. Guzmán Lopez was first caught in 2019 but released after cartel members attacked civilians. He was arrested again in 2023 in an operation that led to another 30 deaths. He has previously pleaded not guilty but is expected to appear in federal court this July to change his plea. Court records do not include details about a possible plea agreement. García Harfuch's confirmation comes as the U.S. attorney general's office announced it was charging cartel leaders with 'narcoterrorism' for the first time since Trump labelled several cartels foreign terrorist organizations. Prosecutors declined to comment to AP News about footage showing the cartel family members crossing the border. But U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon and other officials sent a warning to the cartel from California. 'Let me be direct, to the leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, you are no longer the hunters, you are the hunted,' he said. 'You will be betrayed by your friends, you will be hounded by your enemies, and you will ultimately find yourself and your face here in a courtroom in the Southern District of California.'
New York Post
10 hours ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Trump admin sanctions El Chapo's sons and offers $10 million reward for their capture
The Trump administration imposed sanctions on Monday against the two fugitive sons of jailed Sinaloa Cartel boss Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman and offered up a $10 million reward for information leading to their arrests. Archivaldo Ivan Guzman and Jesus Alfredo Guzman run the 'Los Chapitos' faction of Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel, which has been at 'the forefront of trafficking fentanyl into the United States' since their father's imprisonment in the US, according to the State Department. Los Chapitos' ability to procure fentanyl precursor chemicals, combined with its penchant for violence and control of secret laboratories in Sinaloa, has allowed the syndicate to dominate the illicit drug trade. 3 El Chapo's sons run the 'Chapitos' faction of the Sinaloa Cartel. AP 'Los Chapitos is a powerful, hyperviolent faction of the Sinaloa Cartel at the forefront of fentanyl trafficking into the United States,' Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement announcing the sanctions. 'At the Department of the Treasury, we are executing on President Trump's mandate to completely eliminate drug cartels and take on violent leaders like 'El Chapo's' children,' Bessent added. 'Treasury is maximizing all available tools to stop the fentanyl crisis and help save lives.' The sanctions will block all property and interests in property and entities owned directly or indirectly by the Guzman brothers. 3 Archivaldo Ivan Guzman and his brother are both wanted by the US government for drug trafficking. Archivaldo and Jesus were also designated as targets under the State Department's Narcotics Rewards Program. The department has offered a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of each brother. 'We will continue to protect our nation by keeping illicit drugs off our streets and disrupting the revenue streams funding Mexico-based cartels' violent and criminal activity, ' State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said in a statement. 'Today's action further demonstrates the Trump Administration's unwavering commitment to eliminating cartels and ensuring the safety of the American people.' 3 The Trump administration has offered a $10 million reward for the capture of Jesus Alfredo Guzman and his brother. Additionally, the Treasury Department sanctioned several businesses controlled by Mexican businessman Jose Raul Nunez Rios and his make-up artist wife, Sheila Paola Urias Vazquez. The couple is believed to be financing an important Los Chapitos cell in Mazatlan, Mexico, which has been waging war against rival cartels and is engaged in drug trafficking, extortion, kidnapping and money laundering, according to the Trump administration. The sanctions follow the Trump administration's designation of the Sinaloa Cartel as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and Specially Designated Global Terrorist in February. El Chapo was convicted in 2019 on multiple conspiracy counts and sentenced to life in prison. He is serving his sentence at ADX Florence, a federal supermax prison in Colorado.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Yahoo
Key cartel member with $1 million US bounty on his head is killed, says Mexican government
Jorge Humberto Figueroa Benítez, identified by the United States government as a key member of the 'Los Chapitos' criminal organization, died during an operation aimed at capturing him in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, the country's Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection Omar García Harfuch said Saturday. The operation against Figueroa Benitez, known by the nickname 'El Perris,' took place in Navolato, 32 kilometers (19 miles) from Culiacán, the state's capital, according to local media. The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was offering up to $1 million for Figueroa Benitez, who was wanted for alleged federal crimes, including conspiracy to import and traffic fentanyl, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and money laundering conspiracy. In 2019, the city of Culiacán was the scene of a violent episode known as the 'Culiacanazo,' which involved violent armed clashes following the temporary capture of Ovidio Guzmán Lopez, one of the sons of Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán. Ovidio was later released by Mexican authorities, arguing that it was to 'save lives.' After being extradited to the US in 2023, Ovidio Guzmán pleaded not guilty to charges of drug trafficking and money laundering, although now, according to court documents reviewed by CNN, he is expected to change that plea. In early May, a US government source told CNN that several of his relatives crossed the border from Mexico into the United States at the San Ysidro port of entry, reportedly as part of an agreement with the US Department of Justice. CNN does not know the whereabouts of these people or whether they entered any witness protection program. CNN has requested comment from US Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Justice.
