1 of 4 Ovidio Guzmán López is known by the nickname El Ratón Photo: US DEPARTMENT OF STATE Ovidio Guzmán López is known by the nickname El Ratón Photo: US DEPARTMENT OF STATE
The U.S. government announced that Ovidio Guzmán López, son of the former Sinaloa Cartel leader known as “El Chapo,” was extradited to the U.S. from Mexico on Friday.
“This action represents the latest step in the Justice Department’s efforts to combat all aspects of the cartel’s activities,” U.S. Attorney Merrick B. Garland said in a statement.
“We thank our colleagues in the Mexican government for this extradition. “The Department of Justice will continue to hold accountable those who contributed to the opioid epidemic that has devastated many communities across the country,” he added, without providing further details.
Following his father’s conviction in the US for drug trafficking in 2019, Ovidio Guzmán, also known as “El Ratón”, was considered one of the leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel and was accused by Washington of conspiring to distribute drugs for import into the US United States.
His arrest took place last January in Culiacán, in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, after a major police and military operation in which ten soldiers and 19 criminal suspects were killed.
In 2019, he had already been arrested and released shortly afterwards due to the violent response of the Mexican armed forces that plunged Culiacán into chaos for several hours.
After his arrest this year, Guzmán remained in a maximum security prison in Mexico. His extradition, requested by the USA four years ago, was finally carried out this Friday.
2 of 4 Image of the arrest of Ovidio Guzmán in 2019 Photo: GOVERNO DO MEXICO Image of the arrest of Ovidio Guzmán in 2019 Photo: GOVERNO DO MEXICO
“El Ratón” is one of four children from Chapo’s relationship with his second wife, Griselda López Pérez.
El Chapo, who is serving a sentence in a maximum security prison in the United States, is estimated to have at least 10 children from his various marriages.
In 2018, Ovidio was indicted by the US Department of Justice on charges of conspiring to distribute drugs for import into the US, along with his brother Joaquín Guzmán López.
According to prosecutors, from April 2008 to April 2018, both men conspired to distribute cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamine from Mexico to the United States.
Last month, he was again indicted by the United States for federal crimes, along with two more of his brothers (Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar and Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar, known as “Los Chapitos”) and 25 other suspected members of the Sinaloa Cartel, such as those in the frame a comprehensive investigation into fentanyl trafficking.
3 of 4 The arrest of Ovidio Guzmán last January in Culiacán caused great unrest in the city Photo: GETTY IMAGES The arrest of Ovidio Guzmán last January in Culiacán caused great unrest in the city Photo: GETTY IMAGES
According to Mexican broadcaster Televisa, Ovidio is the brother of Joaquín, Griselda and Édgar Guzmán, who was allegedly killed by members of the BeltránLeyva cartel.
Ovidio and his brothers are seen as impulsive, overly violent young men who lack their father’s strategic skills.
In 2012, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) added Guzmán to its list of individuals with ties to international organized crime and ordered his assets in the United States to be frozen.
It is also known that he was born in Badiraguato, Sinaloa, the country of Chapo. Mexican media reports that he describes himself as someone who doesn’t have much interest in luxury goods or sports cars.
However, he shows interest in horses and fighting cocks.
Ray Donovan, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) special agent who led the 22agency operation that led to the capture of El Chapo Guzmán, told CNN after his arrest that the Sinaloa drug cartel still controls the vast majority of drug markets in the United States supplies states.
“In fact, El Chapo’s sons have now risen through the ranks of the Sinaloa Cartel and have taken over El Chapo’s entire organization,” he said.
El Chapo’s other children
El Chapo had ten children with three wives: Alejandrina Salazar, Griselda López and Emma Coronel. Not all of them have public information, but some of them, like Ovidio, have been linked to criminal activity.
He had four children with Alejandrina and founded the Guadalajara clan.
With Griselda he had four others, including Ovidio, who grew up in Culiacán.
He had no children with his first wife, Estela Peña. And with Emma Coronel he had two underage twin girls.
“El Chapo is a man with little education, his children have a completely different profile,” Francisco Jiménez, a doctor of law, researcher and member of the Observatory for Security and Justice at the University of Guadalajara, told BBC Mundo in 2019.
4 of 4 Joaquin, Iván Archivaldo and Jesús Alfredo are three sons of El Chapo who are linked to criminal activities Photo: US DEPARTMENT OF STATE
“Those who grew up in Guadalajara had better access to education and were involved in the business world.”
In Culiacán, the environment was harsher and people had to fight for survival day after day, the researcher added during the interview.
Among the children who grew up in Guadalajara is Jesús Alfredo, who is on the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)’s list of most wanted drug traffickers.
And also Iván Archivaldo, who was arrested in 2005 for money laundering for the Sinaloa Cartel.
After spending three years in the Puente Grande maximum security prison, from which his father escaped years ago, he was released due to lack of evidence.
During his time in Culiacán, Ovidio had two other brothers who were involved in criminal activities. These are Édgar, who was murdered in a shopping center in May 2008, and Joaquín, who the USA also accuses of drug trafficking.
The true power of each of El Chapo’s children linked to the Sinaloa Cartel is unknown. There have been rumors in the past that they are vying with Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada for control of the organization.
“What happens is that these organizations are not hierarchical structures. They don’t function like a dictatorship,” Alejandro Hope, a security analyst, told BBC Mundo in 2019.
“The power is dispersed,” the expert added.