El Chapo son pleads not guilty in US court after dramatic arrest

[July 31, 2024]  By Brendan O'Brien and Luc Cohen

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A son of convicted Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman pleaded not guilty to U.S. drug charges on Tuesday, five days after his arrest in a dramatic operation in which he delivered his father's former partner to U.S. authorities.

Joaquin Guzman Lopez, wearing an orange jumpsuit but no handcuffs, entered the plea at a hearing that lasted about 10 minutes in Chicago federal court before U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman, who ordered him detained pending trial. Guzman Lopez could face the death penalty if convicted.

Guzman Lopez was indicted in 2023 along with three of his brothers - known as the "Chapitos," or little Chapos - on U.S. drug trafficking and money laundering charges involving their assumption of leadership of their father's Sinaloa Cartel after his 2017 extradition to the United States.

El Chapo, convicted on murder and drug charges in 2019, is serving a life sentence in a maximum security prison in Colorado.

Guzman Lopez, who is in his late 30s, was taken into U.S. custody on Thursday night near El Paso, Texas alongside Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, the septuagenarian accused drug kingpin who founded the Sinaloa Cartel together with El Chapo.

The courtroom was packed during the hearing with onlookers and members of the U.S. Marshals service. Guzman Lopez spoke in English and answered most questions by saying, "Yes, your honor" or "No, your honor."

The judge did not set a trial date and scheduled the next court date in the case for Sept. 30.

The circumstances of Guzman Lopez's arrival in the United States were not discussed at the hearing. Many of the details about the events leading up to his arrest remain murky.

Last week, U.S. officials familiar with the situation said Guzman Lopez duped Zambada into boarding a propeller plane in Mexico by saying they were going to scope out real estate in the country's north. Instead, the plane brought both men to the United States - where Guzman Lopez had planned to surrender, but Zambada had not.

Jeffrey Lichtman, lawyer for El Chapo's son, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, speaks to members of the press at the Dirksen U.S. courthouse as his client is set to make his initial U.S. court appearance in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., July 30, 2024. REUTERS/Vincent Alban

Zambada's lawyer, Frank Perez, disputed the version of events offered by U.S. officials. Perez said that Guzman Lopez "forcibly kidnapped" Zambada and brought him to the United States against his will.

Zambada pleaded not guilty to drug charges last week in El Paso federal court.

When asked about Perez's assertions after court on Tuesday, Guzman Lopez's lawyer Jeffrey Lichtman said his client was not being accused of kidnapping.

"When the government accuses him, then I'll take notice," Lichtman told reporters. "When lawyers who are trying to score points with the media make accusations ... doesn't move the ball forward."

Mexico has opened an investigation into the events leading to the arrest.

One of Guzman Lopez's brothers, 34-year-old Ovidio Guzman, was extradited from Mexico last year and pleaded not guilty to U.S. drug trafficking charges. The two other indicted brothers, Ivan Guzman Salazar and Alfredo Guzman Salazar, remain at large.

U.S. authorities have said that the four "Chapitos" revived their father's drug empire after he was arrested by embracing fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that helped supercharge an epidemic north of the border.

The arrests of Joaquin Guzman Lopez, Ovidio Guzman and Zambada were coups for U.S. authorities that may also reshape the Mexican crime landscape.

(Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Chicago and Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Will Dunham)

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