Ovidio Guzmán López pleaded guilty to four U.S. federal charges last week during a hearing held in the Northern District of Illinois. At 35 years old, El Chapo Guzmán’s son accepted the charges for operating a continuous criminal organization and conspiring to traffic drugs, including fentanyl, and arms trafficking.
The Trump administration continues to target Mexican criminal organizations, including the Sinaloa cartel. Various Mexican news outlets report that this admission of guilt in high-level crimes such as drug trafficking, arms trafficking, and organized crime allows him to seek a waiver expressly to appeal any sentence that is imposed. The judicial move could allow Ovidio to receive a relatively moderate sentence for the serious charge of coordinating massive shipments of fentanyl into the US. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York transferred the case to Chicago on July 1, which allows an accelerated resolution by concentrating the federal charges in a single jurisdiction.
Ovidio’s lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman, launched accusations against the Mexican government, calling President Sheinbaum a publicist for the El Mayo Zambada faction of the Sinaloa Cartel. The president responded from Culiacán, describing the statements as disrespectful, reiterating that her government does not establish relations of complicity with anyone, Breitbart Texas reported on Sunday. President Sheinbaum stated that she was not consulted on this agreement. Lichtman accused Sheinbaum of indirectly protecting El Mayo of the Sinaloa cartel and criticized that for four decades, no Mexican government has managed to stop him, nor has any serious effort ever been made to stop him, despite having him in front of their noses.
President Sheinbaum did not take long to respond. “We do not establish relations of complicity with anyone. The statements of Ovidio’s lawyer are completely disrespectful to the presidential institution,” the Mexican president stated, stressing that her administration will not tolerate attacks by legal representatives of criminals.
The exact content of Ovidio’s confessions remains classified. Many believe that the deal was not just a sentence reduction. It is an act that could have devastating effects for the criminal networks with which he once collaborated. It could even have implications for political, business, and military figures, in Mexico and abroad.
The case revealed that the confessions of Ovidio could go far beyond drug trafficking, touching sensitive fibers of national political power in Mexico. Ovidio is likely providing sensitive information about criminal networks, money laundering, and institutional protection of the cartel.
According to journalist Ricardo Rabelo, an expert in organized crime and author of several books on the Sinaloa cartel, there are already signs of nervousness among the Morena Party. In the Narcomundo program, Rabelo assured that what is at stake is not only the fate of a high-level drug trafficker but the stability of key political figures of the current regime.
One of the names that has resonated the most recently is that of Adán Augusto López Hernández, the former governor of Tabasco and current president of the Senate’s Political Coordination Board. According to Rabelo, there are accusations that he appointed a member of Los Barredora, the armed wing of the Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG), as head of security in the Mexican State of Tabasco. Lopez’s direct link to a criminal group sets off alarms. It begs the question of why a governor would have any form of communication with a criminal group, let alone appoint a member to a government position.
Another name mentioned insistently is that of Ricardo Monreal, Morena’s parliamentary leader in the Chamber of Deputies. Rabelo accuses him of accumulating a millionaire’s fortune in a very short time and further indicates that he bought ranches and tequila companies without clear financial justification — insinuating that behind all that money, you will discover crime or corruption.
Even the children of former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, AMLO, were alluded to, although without evidence. Rabelo alleges that the presidential family’s involvement in shady businesses raises suspicions. In the hearing of Ovidio, a tremendous sewer will be uncovered, Rabelo warned. The impact of Ovidio’s confessions also extends to the justice system and the Attorney General’s Office.
Just last month, Breitbart Texas reported on the arrival of at least 17 close relatives of Ovidio, which could be interpreted as part of a broader negotiating strategy. These developments have undoubtedly raised concerns among those who may have been involved in illegal activities that could now be exposed as part of a collaboration agreement.
The silence of the Mexican federal government has now given way to defensive statements from President Sheinbaum, who stated that she will not protect anyone and that the institutions will act in accordance with the law. However, the names of many politicians and government officials who may be colluding with the cartel have been dropped, creating a buzz as many politicians are preemptively pointing fingers at one another.
There is a significant difference between the strategies employed by the two countries against organized crime. The Trump administration imposes terrorism designations against cartels, including the Sinaloa cartel, and negotiates sentences with captured cartel leaders in exchange for intelligence. Mexico demands solid evidence of allegations and respect for its judicial sovereignty.
The Attorney General’s Office in Mexico reiterated that any information provided by Ovidio Guzmán will be assessed in accordance with the law and that no line of investigation will be ruled out if verifiable evidence is presented.
Since the official announcement of his guilty plea, analysts and journalists warned that the pact with Ovidio Guzmán is not only a legal procedure but a strategic move that could benefit both governments. Obtaining confessions, valuable names, operational tactics, and information about the Sinaloa cartel infrastructure represents a hugely successful operational victory for the United States. The Department of Justice has already said that Guzmán’s statements could be considered and may reduce his sentence if they are helpful.
Ovidio’s lawyer, Jeffrey Lickman, insists that his client will not only collaborate but also reveal the high-level connections that for years protected the Sinaloa cartel. Ovidio’s cooperation could open a Pandora’s box and could change the way we fully understand the relationship between Mexico’s politicians and criminal organizations.
The structures of organized crime in Mexico are not simple criminal groups. They have been historically linked to influential economic and political figures. Exposing the names of politicians, businessmen, and military personnel mentioned as beneficiaries or accomplices could disrupt Mexico’s institutions, potentially having a lasting impact on the integrity of the Mexican government.
Editor’s Note: Breitbart News Foundation traveled to Mexico to recruit citizen journalists willing to risk their lives and expose the cartels silencing their communities. The writers would face certain death at the hands of the various cartels that operate throughout Mexico if a pseudonym were not used. Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles are published in both English and their original Spanish. This article was written by “Diego Cervantes.”
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