El Chapo’s son set to change plea in major US drug case next week

A son of imprisoned Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán is expected to enter a guilty plea next week in the United States on federal narcotics charges, according to newly filed court documents.

Joaquín Guzmán López, one of four sons of the Sinaloa cartel’s notorious former leader, initially pleaded not guilty following his arrest in Texas in July 2024. However, new filings released on Friday indicate that he is scheduled to change his plea at a hearing on Monday before a federal judge in Chicago.

Another brother, Ovidio Guzmán, previously admitted guilt in July 2025 as part of a negotiated deal that reduced his potential prison sentence. His plea covered charges of drug-trafficking conspiracy and involvement in a criminal enterprise. During his court appearance, he acknowledged that he and his siblings — collectively known as “Los Chapitos” — assumed control of their father’s operations after El Chapo’s 2016 arrest.

Local media in Mexico suggested that Guzmán López’s expected plea could reshape the landscape of cartel prosecutions, hinting at possible ongoing cooperation with U.S. authorities. Reports also indicated that prosecutors no longer intend to seek the death penalty, fuelling speculation that a broader agreement may be underway.

Guzmán López is set to appear in federal court in Chicago at 1:30 p.m. on Monday.

Two of his brothers, Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar and Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar, also face U.S. drug-trafficking indictments but have so far evaded capture.

Their father, now 68, is serving a life sentence at a maximum-security prison in Colorado after his 2019 conviction.

Guzmán López was detained last year after landing in Texas aboard a small private aircraft with Sinaloa cartel cofounder Ismael “Mayo” Zambada. Zambada claimed he was deceived about the flight’s destination and alleged that he had been forcibly delivered to U.S. authorities.

Following the arrests, internal violence flared between factions aligned with Los Chapitos and Zambada, resulting in an estimated 1,200 deaths and around 1,400 disappearances across Mexico, according to official records.

U.S. officials accuse the Sinaloa cartel of driving much of the fentanyl crisis by smuggling large quantities of the synthetic opioid into the country — a problem that has strained bilateral relations in recent years. The group is among several Mexican trafficking organisations designated as global terrorist entities by the U.S. government.

In June, Washington imposed additional sanctions on the two fugitive Chapitos brothers and raised the reward for information leading to their capture to $10 million each.