Joaquin Guzman Lopez, known as one of El Chapo’s sons and a leader in the Sinaloa Cartel, has pleaded guilty to federal drug charges in a case that the Department of Justice and federal law enforcement describe as a major blow to the cartel’s operations.
Joaquin Guzman Lopez, 39, admitted guilt to one count of drug conspiracy and one count of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise. Those convictions carry a mandatory minimum of 10 years and exposure up to life in prison, and he has been held in U.S. custody since his arrest in July 2024. No sentencing date has been set yet.
Authorities say Guzman Lopez rose into leadership after his father’s arrest and conviction, taking a central role in coordinating shipments of precursor chemicals and finished drugs. The government alleges shipments included cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl moved toward the U.S. border in quantities sometimes measured in the hundreds or thousands of kilograms. Investigators describe a broad smuggling system that used vehicles, rail cars, tunnels, aircraft, submersible vessels, and other methods to move narcotics and their proceeds.
“The Sinaloa Cartel is a terrorist organization that has spent decades destroying American families through brutal violence and deadly drug trafficking,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “Yesterday’s guilty plea from El Chapo’s son is a major victory against the Sinaloa Cartel and underscores the Trump Administration’s historic, aggressive campaign to dismantle terrorist organizations that target the American people.”
DEA officials highlighted the human toll and the cartel’s reach. “Under the Chapitos’ leadership, the Sinaloa Cartel has fueled the deadliest drug crisis in our nation’s history, manufacturing poison and profiting from the destruction of American lives,” said DEA Administrator Terrance Cole. “DEA stands committed to dismantle Sinaloa Cartel’s command and control, expose their criminal networks, and deliver justice for the hundreds of thousands of lives lost to their greed. Joaquin Guzmán Lopez’s guilty plea marks another blow to the cartel’s ruthless operations. We will not stop until these narco-terrorists are held accountable and the American people are protected.”
The plea includes an $80 million personal money judgment representing proceeds traceable to Guzman Lopez’s offenses. He also acknowledged involvement in specific quantities of drugs: more than 36 kilograms of fentanyl, 90 kilograms of heroin, 450 kilograms of cocaine, 45 kilograms of methamphetamine, and 90,000 kilograms of marijuana. Those figures are part of the signed agreement that binds his admissions to the court record.
Federal filings allege that Guzman Lopez and associates laundered the proceeds from drug sales in the United States and moved funds to Mexico and elsewhere. Prosecutors say they bribed public officials and used violence to shield their operations, targeting law enforcement, rivals, and even members of their own organization to preserve control and profit from trafficking.
“After the United States successfully prosecuted El Chapo, his son, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, took up his father’s mantle and jointly led the ‘Los Chapitos’ faction of the Sinaloa Cartel — one of the world’s most notorious drug trafficking organizations — in its efforts to flood the United States with deadly fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Under the leadership of Guzman Lopez and his associates, the Sinaloa Cartel spread violence and bribed public officials to protect its illicit business. The Criminal Division and our partners will not rest until we have fully dismantled the criminal cartels whose ruthless violence and lethal narcotics distribution threaten the safety and health of the American people.”
Guzman Lopez also admitted to his role in an international kidnapping, a crime he acknowledged in the plea but for which he will not receive cooperation credit. Prosecutors stated the United States did not induce or condone the kidnapping, and Guzman Lopez acknowledged the act occurred even though it will not reduce his sentence under the plea terms.
Members of Guzman Lopez’s family remain the subject of U.S. indictments and investigations. His brother Ovidio Guzman Lopez previously pleaded guilty to federal drug charges and is awaiting sentencing, while Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar and Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar are charged in multiple districts and remain fugitives. Federal authorities have offered rewards for information leading to arrests and continue coordinated efforts to locate and prosecute high-level cartel figures.
Law enforcement credited a multiagency effort investigated by HSI and the FBI and prosecuted by trial attorneys and assistant U.S. attorneys across several districts. Officials framed the outcome as part of broader efforts under Operation Take Back America to marshal federal resources against transnational criminal organizations and to protect communities from violent drug trafficking and corruption. “The Guzman’s have made a family business out of trafficking fentanyl and other dangerous drugs,” said Acting Assistant Director Gregory Heeb of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “Protecting Americans from the Sinaloa and other criminal cartels terrorizing and poisoning our communities is one of the FBI’s highest priorities and we will continue to work relentlessly to dismantle and disrupt these dangerous international criminal networks.”
