Lawyer denies El Chapo’s son Joaquín Guzmán López made deal with US before arrest, pleads not guilty in court

CHICAGO— In a case rife with intrigue, Joaquín Guzmán López, the son of former Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to drug possession, money laundering and firearms charges. His lawyer said his client had not made any deals with U.S. officials.

Guzmán López appeared briefly in federal court in Chicago. Later, attorney Jeffrey Lichtman told reporters: “There is no agreement between Joaquín Guzmán and the government. Period.”

Since the shocking news broke that a plane carrying Guzmán López and Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, the alleged co-founder of the cartel, had flown from Mexico to El Paso, Texas, on Thursday, there has been plenty of speculation about what happened — and why.

Lichtman’s statement on Tuesday raises new questions about why Guzmán López flew here if he does not have a cooperation agreement with American authorities.

Did Guzmán López intend to surrender, as the Mexican government said Monday, citing information from U.S. authorities? If so, did he take Zambada with him as a bonus for the U.S.? Did Guzmán López and his henchmen commit the ultimate betrayal by ambushing Zambada and throwing him onto a plane, as the latter’s lawyer said?

U.S. authorities were notified several times that Guzmán López was considering surrendering, but it was not until that same day that his intention was confirmed without prior notice, according to information provided by U.S. officials to the Mexican government.

The federal government has not issued an official comment on the circumstances of the flight.

Guzmán López, known as one of El Chapo’s “Chapitos,” or sons, is accused of a string of crimes, including one that carries the death penalty. But no formal kidnapping charge has been filed.

“He’s not charged with kidnapping,” Lichtman said. “When the government charges him, I’ll take notice.”

Lichtman was cleared to represent Guzmán López and his brother, Ovidio Guzmán López, who also faces federal charges. Both brothers have status hearings scheduled for Sept. 30.

Guzmán López, dressed in an orange jumpsuit and ankle chains, told the court he was receiving treatment for thyroid problems and high blood pressure.

He was indicted on those charges by a federal grand jury in Illinois, according to a U.S. Department of Justice statement last year.

The court appearance follows the arrests of Guzmán López, 38, and Zambada on Thursday by U.S. authorities in El Paso. They face multiple charges for allegedly running what is considered one of the most powerful and dangerous drug-smuggling operations in the world.

Zambada, 76, pleaded not guilty during his initial appearance in federal court Friday morning in El Paso and is being held without bail on seven federal criminal charges, including continuing criminal activity and money laundering. He is scheduled to appear in person in the same courthouse for a status conference on Thursday, according to court documents.

U.S. law enforcement officials told CNN the arrest came after Guzmán López tricked Zambada into arranging their arrests. Zambada thought the two were flying to northern Mexico to view properties, but instead their small private plane landed north of the border, where U.S. authorities were waiting on the tarmac, officials said.

However, Zambada’s lawyer, in a telephone interview and a statement to CNN on Sunday, described the incident not as a ruse but a brutal kidnapping.

“Joaquín Guzmán López forcibly kidnapped my client. He was attacked, thrown to the ground and handcuffed by six men in military uniforms and Joaquín. His legs were tied and a black bag was placed over his head,” attorney Frank Pérez said in a statement.

“He was then thrown into the back of a pickup truck and taken to the runway. There, he was forced onto the plane, Joaquin tied his legs to the seat, and then brought to the U.S. against his will. The only people on the plane were the pilot, Joaquin, and my client.”

The Mexican president asked the United States to explain what exactly happened.

“The United States government must present a complete report. It cannot be just general statements,” President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said last Friday. “There must be transparency.”

At a news conference on Monday, he said Mexico can be trusted.

“We’re not going to hide anything. Nothing. We should make sure that we’re not having any complicit relationships with anyone in Mexico or abroad. And people should know that,” he said.

The cartel, one of the most powerful drug trafficking organizations in the world, is believed to be responsible for smuggling vast quantities of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and fentanyl into the United States. US Drug Enforcement Administration Chief Anne Milgram said the arrests strike “at the heart of the cartel that is responsible for most of the drugs, including fentanyl and methamphetamine, killing Americans from coast to coast.”

A law enforcement source familiar with the situation told CNN that U.S. officials were hesitant to inform Mexican counterparts in advance because of concerns that the operation could have been compromised. Details of the operation were also tightly restricted within the U.S. government until Zambada and Guzmán López were arrested, the source said.

Let’s take a closer look at the cartel and its leaders

The Sinaloa cartel was founded in the late 1980s and led by El Chapo, who escaped from Mexican prisons twice before being apprehended by Mexican authorities in 2016.

The cartel is blamed for playing a key role in the drug war that has raged in Mexico for years, causing tens of thousands of deaths and contributing to persistently high levels of violence across the country.

In the early 2010s, the cartel was estimated to control approximately 40 to 60 percent of the Mexican drug trade, earning as much as $3 billion annually, according to a Congressional Research Service report.

El Chapo was extradited to the U.S. in 2017 and convicted of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, drug trafficking, money laundering and conspiracy to commit murder. He is serving a life sentence in a U.S. federal prison.

Experts believe the cartel has faced numerous challenges since then, with the splintering of factions (some led by Zambada and Guzmán’s sons) and the emergence of rival cartels.

FBI Director Christopher Wray said both Zambada and Guzmán López “evaded law enforcement for decades.”

Zambada was indicted by a northern Illinois grand jury in 2009, according to the U.S. State Department, and faces multiple criminal charges. In 2021, the U.S. raised the reward for information leading to his arrest to $15 million.

“Ismael Mario Zambada Garcia is the longtime leader of the Zambada Garcia faction of the Sinaloa Cartel,” according to the U.S. State Department. “Zambada Garcia is unique in that he has spent his entire adult life as a major international drug trafficker, yet has never spent a day in prison.”

El Chapo’s sons, meanwhile, are accused of “repeatedly and persistently transporting lethal doses of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and fentanyl,” the Justice Department said last year.

Zambada’s son, Vicente Zambada Niebla, admitted during testimony at Guzmán’s 2018 trial to transmitting orders for murders and kidnappings. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2019 by a federal judge in Chicago. He began cooperating with the U.S. government in 2011, prosecutors said in a May 2019 letter.