Mica for cartelinsider.com
The legal situation of Ovidio Guzmán López, son of El Chapo Guzmán, known as “El Ratón,” who was arrested in January 2023 and extradited to the United States, is still unclear.
On July 23, he was no longer in the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) custody and is scheduled to appear before the Northern District of Illinois court on September 30.
This week, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and the head of the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection, Rosa Icela Rodríguez, were asked whether Ovidio Guzmán was already a protected witness.
However, like with the arrests of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and Joaquín Guzmán López (brother of Ovidio), the Mexican Government knows few details about it.
There is uncertainty about Ovidio Guzmán’s location. One theory is that he was moved to a prison in Texas before his brother and El Mayo Zambada were arrested.
However, the legal process against him is still ongoing, and his next hearing is scheduled for the same day as his brother’s appearance in the Northern District Court of Illinois.
This is the story of the Guzmán López brothers, members of the Los Chapitos faction commanded by their half-brothers Iván Archivaldo and Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar.
They separated on January 5, 2023, with the capture of “El Ratón” and further distanced themselves when, on September 15, Mexican authorities extradited him to the United States.
After arriving in the United States, Ovidio Guzmán López was taken to the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago (MCC), where he awaited trial for crimes related to drug trafficking, money laundering, and use of firearms. He has pleaded “not guilty” to all charges.
Almost a year after being extradited, Joaquín Guzmán’s brother was arrested with El Mayo Zambada at an airport near El Paso, Texas.
While Zambada García was imprisoned in Texas, Joaquín, also known as “El Güero Moreno,” was taken to the MCC in Chicago, where Ovidio was being held.
After the arrest of Joaquín and Ismael Zambada, a review in the BOP revealed that Ovidio Guzmán had been released two days before his brother’s arrest.
In a document from the Northern District Court of Illinois signed by Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman, it is stated that the hearing for Joaquín Guzmán López is scheduled for September 30, 2024, at 10:15 AM.
The hearing for Ovidio Guzmán has been rescheduled; it was initially set for October 1 but has been moved up a day. The new date and time for Ovidio Guzmán’s hearing are not specified.
Both lawyers were taken to the same prison and had their hearings scheduled for the same day. They both have the same lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman, and the same judge, Johnson Coleman. Additionally, both lawyers have pleaded guilty to charges of drug trafficking.
While we wait for information about Ovidio Guzmán López’s whereabouts, we must also wait for the developments in his brothers’ hearings to understand their strategy.
Their options range from seeking protection as witnesses to potentially facing life imprisonment if convicted, which is the most severe scenario for them.
The lawyer for both narcos told the Chicago Tribune that their client, Ovidio, was transferred to another jail after complaining about the inhumane and isolated conditions he was subjected to at the Chicago MCC. The United States Government has not confirmed this information.
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Mica
Email: mica@cartelinsider.com
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