Ovidio Guzman Lopez, a son of former Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was extradited Friday from Mexico to the United States to face drug trafficking charges. Mexican security forces captured Guzman Lopez, alias “the Mouse,” in January in Culiacan, capital of Sinaloa state. January’s arrest was followed by violence that killed 30 people in Culiacan, including 10 military personnel. Cartel gunmen hit two military aircraft forcing them to land and sent gunmen to the city’s airport where military and civilian aircraft were hit by gunfire. U.S. prosecutors unsealed sprawling indictments against Guzman and his brothers. They have denied the allegations of drug trafficking. Their goal was to produce huge quantities of fentanyl and sell it at the lowest price. “The Justice Department will continue to hold accountable those responsible for fuelling the opioid epidemic that has devastated too many communities across the country,” US Attorney General Merrick Garland said on Friday.
Mr Garland also thanked the Mexican government for its assistance in getting Ovidio to the US. Ovidio Guzmán is one of four children El Chapo had during his relationship with Griselda López in the 1980s and 90s. El Chapo also has other children from his previous marriage and from his subsequent relationship with Coronel. The Sinaloa cartel is a transnational criminal organisation that is estimated by US law enforcement officials to have smuggled more than 1,000 tonnes of cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamines and heroin into the US.
