Mexican media, such as the major daily newspaper “Milenio”, called Ovidio Guzman Lopez on Saturday (local time) “mainly responsible for the drug crisis in the US”. In a secret operation, he was extradited to the US on Friday – on the same plane as his father six years ago, a Bombardier Challenger 605.
According to the newspaper, until his arrest, Ovidio Guzmán was one of the key figures in the trafficking of the synthetic opioid fentanyl, a very powerful painkiller with high addictive potential. In Mexico, his cartel also manufactured other synthetic drugs on a large scale and “exported” them to the United States.
Key figure behind Mexico’s drug glut
The transfer took place on Friday (local time), US Attorney General Merrick Garland confirmed, according to media reports in Washington. US authorities assume that Ovidio Guzmán and his brothers took command of the Sinaloa drug cartel after their father was arrested a few years ago – on January 19, 2017.
Garland assured that his department will continue to hold those responsible for the opioid crisis in the United States accountable. The extradition of Ovidio Guzmán highlights “the importance of cooperation between the American and Mexican governments to curb drug trafficking.”
Successor to the Sinaloa Cartel
The 33-year-old is accused of “drug trafficking, money laundering and other violent crimes,” the statement continues. US investigators also targeted Ovidio Guzman for ordering the deaths of a police informant, a drug dealer and a famous singer who refused to perform at his wedding reception.
APA/AFP/US Department of Justice “El Chapo” Joaquin Guzman has been in US custody for more than six years
US authorities classify Ovidio Guzman, as well as his brother Joaquin Guzman Jr., as particularly influential members of the Sinaloa Cartel. His brothers Ivan Archivaldo and Jesus Alfredo are also believed to be involved in drug trafficking. The US offered a reward of up to five million dollars (around 4.7 million euros) for information leading to the arrest of Ovidio Guzmán.
Street battles and shootings after arrest
In early January he was finally captured in Culiacán, capital of the Mexican state of Sinaloa. 29 people died in the operation – ten military personnel and 19 alleged cartel members. According to the Mexican government, the arrest of Ovidio Guzmán was preceded by a six-month surveillance operation with the aim of locating the son of “El Chapo”.
His arrest triggered a wave of violence in Culiacán. Members of the Sinaloa Cartel attacked security forces, blocked roads and set vehicles on fire.
“The Rat” and the opioid crisis in the USA
Ovidio Guzman, known as “El Raton” (“the rat”), initially had his extradition to the US blocked by court order. US authorities accuse him of overseeing nearly a dozen laboratories in Sinaloa that produce the synthetic drug methamphetamine and of being involved in cocaine and marijuana trafficking.
Just two days before Ovidio Guzman’s transfer to US authorities, his stepmother Emma Coronel Aispuro was released from prison in the US. The 34-year-old wife of “El Chapo”, who had twins with the drug dealer, was sentenced to three years in prison in November 2021 for drug trafficking and money laundering.
Son of the world’s most wanted criminal
Joaquin Guzman was at times one of the most wanted criminals in the world. He was extradited to the United States in 2017 and sentenced to life in prison by a New York court in 2019 for, among other things, drug trafficking, money laundering and weapons crimes. He is now serving his sentence in the state of Colorado, in one of the most secure prisons in the USA.
“El Chapo” founded the Sinaloa cartel four decades ago and is one of the most powerful drug cartels in Mexico. The US accuses him of flooding the country with fentanyl, among other things. The synthetic opioid drug is about 50 times stronger than heroin and is responsible for countless drug-related deaths in the US.