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Fox News
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
El Chapo's family members cross US border in apparent deal with Trump administration
Mexican officials said Wednesday that 17 family members of drug cartel leaders crossed into the United States last week as part of a deal between a son of the former head of the Sinaloa Cartel and the Trump administration. Mexican Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch confirmed a report by independent journalist Luis Chaparro that family members of Ovidio Guzmán López had entered the U.S. Lopez, the son of imprisoned Sinaloa Cartel boss Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, was extradited to the U.S. in 2023. Among the family members allowed into the U.S. was Guzman's former wife, Griselda López Pérez. In a radio interview, García Harfuch said it was clear to Mexican authorities the deal was made during negotiations between Guzmán López and the U.S. government. "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. None of the family was being pursued by Mexican authorities. Video footage posted online Tuesday by Spanish-language outlet Radio Formula shows Guzmán's family carrying luggage as they wait to be processed at the Tijuana/San Diego border crossing. They reportedly packed $70,000 in cash with them. The confirmation by García Harfuch came the same day the office of U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced it was charging a number of top cartel leaders with "narcoterrorism" for the first time since the Trump administration declared a number of cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. "Let me be direct, to the leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, you are no longer the hunters, you are the hunted," U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon for the Southern District of California 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." Guzmán López, 35, also known as "the Mouse," is one of the four of Guzmán's sons known as "Los Chapitos," who ran the Sinaloa Cartel in their father's absence. At his peak, the elder Guzmán was one of the most powerful drug traffickers in the world, turning the Sinaloa Cartel into a major force and one of the largest groups responsible for illegal drugs pouring into the U.S. He was arrested and extradited to the U.S. in 2017 and convicted of drug trafficking and other crimes. He is imprisoned in Colorado.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
17 members of a cartel kingpin's family were escorted into California from Mexico. Why?
Key pillars of the Trump administration's policy toward Mexico involve large-scale deportations and a crackdown on cartels. But reports in the Mexican media suggest that U.S. authorities recently orchestrated the secret, cross-border move of at least 17 relatives of Mexico's most notorious drug kingpin — Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán — to California. Various social media sites have circulated images purporting to show El Chapo's kin lugging rolling suitcases as they waited to enter the United States last week at the San Ysidro border crossing connecting Tijuana and San Diego. In a radio interview on Tuesday, Omar García Harfuch, Mexico's security chief, confirmed that the move took place. He characterized the transfer of El Chapo's relatives as part of a "negotiation" between the U.S. Justice Department and representatives of one of El Chapo's sons, Ovidio Guzmán López, who faces drug-smuggling and other charges in federal court in Chicago. Read more: Mexico extradites Ovidio Guzmán López, son of Sinaloa cartel leader 'El Chapo,' to U.S. Ovidio Guzmán was initially arrested in 2109 in an operation that sparked gun battles paralyzing the city of Culiacán, prompting then-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to order him freed in a bid to end the violence. He was rearrested in 2023 in a second bloody operation that left at least 29 dead, including 10 Mexican soldiers. Mexico extradited him to the United States in September 2023 to face drug trafficking charges. He plans to change his not guilty plea to guilty, according to court papers, but the terms of his potential plea deal remain publicly unknown. A court hearing is set for July 9 in federal court in Chicago. "As we saw in the news, Ovidio begins a negotiation with the Department of Justice of the United States and it's evident that, [with] his family going to the United States, it's because of that negotiation," García Harfuch told Mexico's Radio Formula. The current whereabouts of the El Chapo relatives could not be determined. It was not clear if they were under some form of protective custody. There has been speculation in Mexico that, in exchange for a reduced prison term and other concessions, Ovidio Guzmán could agree to testify for the government in drug cases. Such "cooperation" agreements, experts say, routinely include protection for the relatives of potential witnesses. Read more: What's it like to defend a Mexican cartel boss? Reputed drug lords seek lawyers in U.S. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday that the reports had blindsided her — she learned of it from news accounts — and that her government was seeking clarification from Washington. A Justice Department spokeswoman, Nicole Navas, declined to comment. Ovidio Guzmán's New York-based attorney, Jeffrey Lichtman, did not return messages. El Chapo, who was convicted in 2019 of running a vast drug network, is serving a life sentence at a so-called supermax prison in Colorado. The accounts about El Chapo's relatives entering San Diego originated with Luis Chaparro, a Mexican journalist who specializes in stories about the convicted drug trafficker. On Monday, Chaparro, citing "sources," reported on his YouTube channel that 17 of El Chapo's relatives —including his ex-wife, various nephews and nieces, a grandson, a daughter and a son-in-law — entered U.S. territory in San Ysidro at about mid-day on May 9 and were met by FBI agents. They carried more than $70,000 in cash, reported Chaparro, who said at least one sniper watched over the group as they turned themselves in to U.S. authorities. Among the group was Griselda López, El Chapo's former wife and the mother of Ovidio and his elder brother, Joaquín Guzmán López, who is also in U.S. custody facing drug charges. There has been widespread speculation in the Mexican press that Ovidio Guzmán and his elder brother may seek a plea deal and possibly agree to testify against Ismael Zambada García, a co-founder, with El Chapo, of the notorious Sinaloa cartel. Read more: At the epicenter of the Mexican drug trade, a deadly power struggle shuts down a city Zambada has said he was kidnapped by Joaquín Guzmán López last summer and flown into the custody of U.S. agents outside El Paso, Texas. Zambada is reportedly in plea negotiations with U.S. authorities to avoid a potential death penalty. Zambada's arrest has sparked a bloody turf war splitting the Sinaloa cartel. Backers of Zambada are fighting supporters of El Chapo's sons, known as Los Chapitos, for control of the storied criminal organization. Heading Los Chapitos, authorities say, are two of El Chapo's other sons, both wanted men who have remained in Mexico and avoided arrest and possible extradition to the United States. Contributing were staff writer Keegan Hamilton in Los Angeles and special correspondents Cecilia Sánchez Vidal and Liliana Nieto del Río in Mexico City. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
17 members of a cartel kingpin's family were escorted into California from Mexico. Why?
MEXICO CITY — Key pillars of the Trump administration's policy toward Mexico involve large-scale deportations and a crackdown on cartels. But reports in the Mexican media suggest that U.S. authorities recently orchestrated the secret, cross-border move of at least 17 relatives of Mexico's most notorious drug kingpin — Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán — to California. Various social media sites have circulated images purporting to show El Chapo's kin lugging rolling suitcases as they waited to enter the United States last week at the San Ysidro border crossing connecting Tijuana and San Diego. In a radio interview on Tuesday, Omar García Harfuch, Mexico's security chief, confirmed that the move took place. He characterized the transfer of El Chapo's relatives as part of a 'negotiation' between the U.S. Justice Department and representatives of one of El Chapo's sons, Ovidio Guzmán López, who faces drug-smuggling and other charges in federal court in Chicago. Ovidio Guzmán was initially arrested in 2109 in an operation that sparked gun battles paralyzing the city of Culiacán, prompting then-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to order him freed in a bid to end the violence. He was rearrested in 2023 in a second bloody operation that left at least 29 dead, including 10 Mexican soldiers. Mexico extradited him to the United States in September 2023 to face drug trafficking charges. He plans to change his not guilty plea to guilty, according to court papers, but the terms of his potential plea deal remain publicly unknown. A court hearing is set for July 9 in federal court in Chicago. 'As we saw in the news, Ovidio begins a negotiation with the Department of Justice of the United States and it's evident that, [with] his family going to the United States, it's because of that negotiation,' García Harfuch told Mexico's Radio Formula. The current whereabouts of the El Chapo relatives could not be determined. It was not clear if they were under some form of protective custody. There has been speculation in Mexico that, in exchange for a reduced prison term and other concessions, Ovidio Guzmán could agree to testify for the government in drug cases. Such 'cooperation' agreements, experts say, routinely include protection for the relatives of potential witnesses. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday that the reports had blindsided her — she learned of it from news accounts — and that her government was seeking clarification from Washington. A Justice Department spokeswoman, Nicole Navas, declined to comment. Ovidio Guzmán's New York-based attorney, Jeffrey Lichtman, did not return messages. El Chapo, who was convicted in 2019 of running a vast drug network, is serving a life sentence at a so-called supermax prison in Colorado. The accounts about El Chapo's relatives entering San Diego originated with Luis Chaparro, a Mexican journalist who specializes in stories about the convicted drug trafficker. On Monday, Chaparro, citing 'sources,' reported on his YouTube channel that 17 of El Chapo's relatives —including his ex-wife, various nephews and nieces, a grandson, a daughter and a son-in-law — entered U.S. territory in San Ysidro at about mid-day on May 9 and were met by FBI agents. They carried more than $70,000 in cash, reported Chaparro, who said at least one sniper watched over the group as they turned themselves in to U.S. authorities. Among the group was Griselda López, El Chapo's former wife and the mother of Ovidio and his elder brother, Joaquín Guzmán López, who is also in U.S. custody facing drug charges. There has been widespread speculation in the Mexican press that Ovidio Guzmán and his elder brother may seek a plea deal and possibly agree to testify against Ismael Zambada García, a co-founder, with El Chapo, of the notorious Sinaloa cartel. Zambada has said he was kidnapped by Joaquín Guzmán López last summer and flown into the custody of U.S. agents outside El Paso, Texas. Zambada is reportedly in plea negotiations with U.S. authorities to avoid a potential death penalty. Zambada's arrest has sparked a bloody turf war splitting the Sinaloa cartel. Backers of Zambada are fighting supporters of El Chapo's sons, known as Los Chapitos, for control of the storied criminal organization. Heading Los Chapitos, authorities say, are two of El Chapo's other sons, both wanted men who have remained in Mexico and avoided arrest and possible extradition to the United States. Contributing were staff writer Keegan Hamilton in Los Angeles and special correspondents Cecilia Sánchez Vidal and Liliana Nieto del Río in Mexico City.
