Washington (EFE).- Ovidio Guzmán, one of the sons of Mexican drug trafficker Joaquín “el Chapo” Guzmán, pleaded not guilty this Monday to the five charges of which he is accused in the Chicago District Court for drug trafficking and money laundering. money.
The man also known as “the Mouse” is accused of conspiring to distribute drugs, being part of a criminal enterprise, exporting narcotics to the United States, carrying out financial transactions with the proceeds of illegal activities, and illicitly using and carrying firearms.
The Department of Justice noted this Monday in a statement that he is accused of conspiring to distribute cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines and marijuana from Mexico and other parts to the United States. This activity occurred between May 2008 and “at least” October 2021.
Guzmán was extradited to the United States from Mexico last Friday and today was his first appearance before the court of the northern district of Illinois, in Chicago. The 33-year-old son of “El Chapo” will be detained without bail.
The Chicago Tribune newspaper reported that he was presented with an orange prison suit and ankle shackles. He listened to the session through an interpreter, but promptly addressed the judge, Sharon Johnson Coleman, in English.
Ovidio Guzmán faces life imprisonment
If convicted, two of the charges carry life in prison. According to that local newspaper, within the framework of the extradition negotiation with the Mexican authorities, the death penalty was excluded.
The courtroom prohibited phones and other electronic devices in this hearing and had a strong police presence, with “at least” eight officers surrounding the accused and near the door, The Chicago Tribune reported.
His next court appearance is scheduled for next November.
Guzmán was one of Washington’s most wanted drug traffickers for his involvement in fentanyl trafficking and Mexican authorities arrested him last January.
In April of this year, the United States Justice filed charges in three different federal districts against him and three of his brothers for having allegedly assumed leadership of the Sinaloa cartel after the arrest and subsequent extradition of their father to the United States.
A man the US was tracking
The Sinaloa cartel, according to the US, is the “most powerful drug trafficking organization in the world” and largely responsible for the production and manufacturing of fentanyl for distribution in the United States, where this drug, considered 50 times more powerful than Heroin is “the leading cause of death among Americans ages 18 to 49.”
Guzmán’s arrest, on January 5, took place days before the visit to Mexico of the US president, Joe Biden, on the occasion of the North American Leaders Summit, although the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, He then denied any relationship between the two events.
This Monday, López Obrador affirmed that the extradition was carried out to avoid giving pretexts for “politicking” to the United States, which is about to hold its next presidential elections in November 2024.
“It is important that no reason be given to those who use the issue of drug trafficking for political purposes in the United States. There are two topics that are used a lot when there are elections in the United States: drug trafficking and migration,” said the Mexican president in his morning press conference.
The US Executive reiterated this Monday its gratitude to the Mexican authorities for their help.
