The US Justice Department files charges agains El Chapo’s sons

• The United States goes after El Chapo’s sons.
• Dozens of members of the Sinaloa cartel, including los Chapitos, face charges.
• The DOJ says they’re trafficking fentanyl.

The US Justice Department announced charges Friday against 28 members of Mexico’s powerful Sinaloa cartel, including the son of infamous drug trafficker Joaquín «El Chapo» Guzmán, Ovidio Guzmán. This comes as part of an extensive investigation into fentanyl trafficking, according to the AP and Mural.

The indictments announced Friday charge three of Guzmán’s sons —  Ovidio Guzmán López, Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar and Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar — known as «los Chapitos». They have earned a reputation as the most violent and aggressive faction of the cartel. Of the three, only Guzmán López is in custody in Mexico.

EL CHAPO’S SONS FACE US CHARGES

Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the charges which are intended to strike a blow at the cartel’s global network. He was joined by DEA Director Anne Milgram and other senior officials.

The defendants are suspected of participating in a large and complex drug manufacturing and supply network. This includes Chinese and Guatemalan nationals accused of supplying precursor chemicals needed to make fentanyl.

BATTLING FENTANYL TRAFFICKING

Others are suspected of running drug manufacturing labs in Mexico or are accused of providing security, weapons and illicit financing for drug trafficking operations. The far-reaching case was announced as the United States grapples with a devastating overdose crisis stemming mostly from fentanyl poisoning.

Nearly 107,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2021, a record number. Seizures of fentanyl, according to the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), have increased by more than 400% since 2019. Seizures this fiscal year already exceed the total of all 2022.

SINALOA CARTEL IS TO BLAME

The DEA says that most of the fentanyl trafficked in the United States comes from the Sinaloa cartel. “Families and communities across our country are being devastated by the fentanyl epidemic,” Garland stated. “We will never forget those responsible for this tragedy. And we will never stop working to hold them accountable for their crimes in the United States.»

El Chapo, the notorious leader of the Sinaloa cartel, was convicted in 2019 of running an industrial-scale smuggling operation. During Guzmán’s trial, prosecutors said evidence collected since the late 1980s showed he and his criminal cartel made billions of dollars by smuggling tons of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana into the United States.

THE US IS OFFERING REWARDS

A defiant Guzmán accused the federal judge in his case of mocking the US justice system and claimed he did not receive a fair trial. Detailing the charges Friday, Garland described the violence of the Sinaloa cartel and how its members have tortured those they consider rivals, including Mexican police officers. In some cases, cartel members also threw their victims, some still alive, to tigers owned by Guzmán’s children, according to Garland.

Eight of the defendants in Friday’s case were arrested and remain in the custody of law enforcement authorities in Colombia, Greece, Guatemala and the United States, Milgram said. The US government is offering rewards for other defendants in the case, including up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest of El Chapo’s two other sons. Charges were filed Friday in New York, Illinois and Washington, DC.