Sons of Joaquin Guzman Loera, AKA "El Chapo" charged with drug trafficking
WASHINGTON – An indictment against Joaquin Guzman Lopez and Ovidio Guzman Lopez, charging them with a conspiracy to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana for importation into the United States was unsealed last week. The Guzman Lopez brothers, believed to currently reside in Mexico, are the sons of Joaquin Guzman Loera, aka “El Chapo,” who was convicted by a jury in the Eastern District of New York for his role as the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel.
Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Scott Brown of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Arizona Field Office made the announcement.
“The successful indictment of “El Chapo’s” sons is a testament that HSI is committed to bringing down the Sinaloa Cartel. We will continue to investigate leaders of this dangerous organization as we dismantle them one by one,” said SAC Scott Brown.
Joaquin Guzman Lopez, 34, and Ovidio Guzman Lopez, 28, are charged in a one-count indictment alleging that from in or around April 2008, through April 2018, they conspired to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana from Mexico and elsewhere for importation into the United States. This case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras.
The investigative efforts of HSI aim to significantly disrupt and dismantle transnational criminal organizations posing the greatest threat to the U.S. This case is the result of the ongoing efforts by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), a partnership that brings together the combined expertise and unique abilities of federal, state, and local enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, dismantle, and prosecute high-level members of drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, and money laundering organizations and enterprises.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Trial Attorneys Anthony Aminoff and Anthony Nardozzi of the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section (NDDS) are prosecuting the case.
Updated: