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Joaquín Guzmán López, son of cartel boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, pleaded guilty in a Chicago federal courtroom Monday to drug-trafficking and continuing criminal enterprise charges, according to reports.
Guzmán López, 39, is among the so-called Chapitos, the group of brothers who took over a major faction of the Sinaloa cartel after drug kingpin El Chapo’s 2019 conviction and life sentence.
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El Chapo’s son, Joaquín Guzmán López, pleads guilty to drug trafficking charges (U.S. Department of State / AP)
Prosecutors say the brothers increased the production and distribution of narcotics, including fentanyl, and created a massive pipeline that funneled tens of thousands of kilograms of drugs into the U.S. each year, per reports.
In court, wearing an orange jumpsuit, Guzmán López replied when Judge Sharon Coleman asked about his occupation: “Drug trafficking,” he said, the Associated Press reported.
“Oh that’s your job,” Coleman replied. “There you go,” she said.
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Drug trafficker Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman in Mexico in 2014. (Susana Gonzalez/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Guzmán López pleaded guilty to two counts of drug trafficking and continuing criminal enterprise after acknowledging his role in overseeing the transporting of drugs to the U.S., mostly through underground tunnels.
Guzmán López’s attorney said the plea deal allows his client to avoid an automatic life sentence, according to the Associated Press.
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Jeffrey Lichtman, an attorney for Joaquin Guzman Lopez, speaks to reporters after his client appeared in US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on Monday, Dec. 1, 2025 in Chicago. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Prosecutors said they would consider reducing his punishment further if he cooperates, though he still faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and loses the right to appeal.
Guzmán López was arrested in July 2024 alongside longtime cartel figure Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada after landing on a private jet in Texas.
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People protested over drug kingpin Joaquin Guzman Loera, aka “el Chapo Guzman.” (Fernando Brito/AFP via Getty Images))
As part of his plea, Guzmán López also admitted taking part in a violent kidnapping linked to cartel infighting.
Prosecutors said he ordered a window panel removed so armed men could storm a meeting, hood the victim, believed by some to be Zambada, drug him, and fly him to New Mexico.
Monday’s plea follows a similar agreement reached months earlier by his brother, Ovidio Guzmán López, on trafficking and money-laundering charges.
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El Chapo himself remains in a maximum-security U.S. prison serving life without parole for running a multibillion-dollar trafficking empire. Prosecutors say his son stepped into his role.