CHICAGO — A son of notorious Mexican drug kingpin “El Chapo” pleaded guilty Monday to U.S. drug trafficking charges, months after his brother entered a plea deal.

Known locally in Mexico as the “Chapitos,” or “little Chapos,” Joaquin Guzman Lopez and his brother, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, are accused of running a faction of the Sinaloa cartel. Federal authorities in 2023 described the operation as a massive effort to send “staggering” quantities of fentanyl into the U.S.

Joaquin Guzman Lopez pleaded guilty to two counts of drug trafficking and continuing criminal enterprise.

He and another longtime Sinaloa leader, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, were arrested in July 2024 in Texas after they landed in the U.S. on a private plane. Both men have previously pleaded not guilty to various drug traffick

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