Joaquín Guzmán López pleads guilty in US drug trafficking case
Special agent in charge of Homeland Security gives statement following El Chapo guilty jury verdict
Joaquín Guzmán López, son of drug lord "El Chapo", pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and continuing criminal enterprise charges in a US federal court.
Guzmán López, 39, admitted to overseeing the transport of vast quantities of drugs, including fentanyl, cocaine, and heroin, into the United States, primarily through underground tunnels.
As part of the plea deal, he is expected to avoid a life sentence but faces a minimum of 10 years in prison, with no opportunity to appeal the sentence.
He also confessed to kidnapping a person - purported to be Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, a fellow Sinaloa leader - in an attempt to show cooperation with the US government, though this action will not earn him cooperation credit.
His brother, Ovidio Guzmán López, previously entered a similar plea deal in July, with both brothers accused of running a faction of the Sinaloa cartel.