Ovidio Guzmán López, the son of former Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, said Monday in a Chicago court not guilty of drug trafficking, money laundering and other charges. He was extradited from Mexico to the United States last week.
Fentanyl
Five months ago, the US Justice Department made public the charges against him and his brothers, known as ‘Los Chapitos’. The indictments detail how, after their father’s extradition and conviction in the United States in 2019, the brothers focused the cartel on synthetic drugs such as methamphetamine and the powerful opioid fentanyl.
The mouse
The arraignment lasted 15 minutes. Guzmán López, nicknamed El Ratón (the mouse), will probably have a jury trial in the long term.
When the charges became public, the brothers wrote a letter of rebuttal. It stated, in part: We have never produced, manufactured or marketed fentanyl or any of its derivatives. We are victims of persecution and they have made us a scapegoat.”
