Three sons of former Mexican drug kingpin Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán were among 28 Sinaloa cartel members charged with fentanyl trafficking by the U.S. government on Friday.
The sons, known as the “Chapitos” — Ovidio Guzmán López, Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar and Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Sálazar — are recognized as the more violent sect of the cartel and have allegedly taken over leadership of the group after their father’s arrest.
Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the charges as part of the fight against drug trafficking amid the rise of fentanyl deaths in the U.S.
“Families and communities across our country are being devastated by the fentanyl epidemic. Today’s actions demonstrate the comprehensive approach the Justice Department is taking to disrupt fentanyl trafficking and save American lives,” Garland said.
One of the sons, Guzmán López, is already in custody in Mexico after a raid in January. Seven of the others charged Friday are in custody worldwide.
The group of 28 includes Chinese and Guatemalan citizens accused of contributing to fentanyl manufacture and distribution in the U.S. The Sinaloa cartel partners with Chinese suppliers for fentanyl precursors, according to the Justice Department.
Between 2019 and 2021, fatal overdoses increased by approximately 94%, with an estimated 196 Americans dying each day from fentanyl, the department said.
Fentanyl seizures by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have increased dramatically in recent years, according to CBP data, with the 2020 total of fentanyl seized being surpassed in just the first two months of the 2023 fiscal year.
The Sinaloa cartel’s former leader, El Chapo, was convicted in 2019 of running an international drug empire and smuggling operation. He had previously escaped a Mexican high security prison in 2001 and another in 2015. He was captured again in 2016 and extradited to the U.S., where he now is serving a life sentence without parole in the country’s most secure supermax prison in Colorado.
“Today’s indictments target every element of the Sinaloa Cartel’s trafficking network and reflect the Justice Department’s commitment to attacking every aspect of this threat,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said. “From the chemical companies in China that spawn fentanyl precursors, to the illicit labs that produce the poison, to the networks and money launderers and murderers that facilitate its distribution.”