Ovidio Guzmán López, one of the sons of jailed drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, pleaded guilty on 11 July in a federal court in Chicago to four criminal counts that accuse him of overseeing a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel and flooding the United States with fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana. The plea covers two narcotics-trafficking conspiracies, a money-laundering conspiracy and a firearms offense. The agreement makes Guzmán the first of El Chapo’s children to strike a deal with U.S. prosecutors. Sentencing was deferred while he cooperates with investigators, leaving open whether he will avoid a mandatory life term. Prosecutors said Guzmán admitted he helped direct violent operations of the cartel and bribed officials to protect its network. Guzmán, 34, was extradited from Mexico in September 2023. On 1 July 2025 federal prosecutors in New York dismissed parallel narcotics charges to concentrate the case in Illinois after Guzmán signaled his intent to plead guilty. The outcome deepens U.S. efforts to dismantle the cartel’s “Chapitos” wing amid a nationwide fentanyl overdose crisis.