How El Chapo’s kids flaunt pet lions, £300k Ferraris and AK47s while running dad’s drug business
POSING with guns, supercars and lion cubs, the sons of notorious drug lord El Chapo love to flaunt their millionaire lifestyles on social media.
The jailed crime boss – whose Sinaloa drug cartel was rumoured to have earned him a personal fortune of £12billion – is thought to have had at least 13 children, although it’s possible more may have been born to his many mistresses.
This week the arrest of one of his sons, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, led to a gun battle between the cartel and the police which left 13 officers dead, bodies lying in the street and cars burning in Culiacan.
The authorities eventually released the 28-year-old to put an end to the violent clashes.
As well as arrest, the 62-year-old’s children – from three marriages and various affairs – face constant threat of kidnap and murder.
Two of his sons, Cesar and Edgar, have already died by the bullet – one rumoured to be shot by El Chapo’s own henchman in a case of mistaken identity – and another was kidnapped in 2016 by a rival gang.
But his surviving children use their social media accounts to taunt rival gangs with their lavish lifestyles, posting pictures of stunning holiday spots, beautiful women and even lines of cocaine.
One has a collection of lion cubs, which he pictured next to his Bentley, while another frequently posts pictures of his AK47 semi-automatic by the seat of his £300,000 red Ferrari.
Here we look at the glamorous life and violent deaths of Los Chapitos – or little Chapos.
Second son Alfredo puts his pet lion on the bonnet of his Bentley
Pet lions and a £50k Jeep
When El Chapo – real name Joaquin Guzman – was jailed for life in the US, in February, he left behind a power struggle as his right hand man Dámaso López Núñez vied to take his place.
Oldest sons Ivan Archivaldo Guzman, Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar and Ovidio Guzman Lopez also sought to establish themselves as cartel leaders and, when Nunez was extradited to the United States in 2018, Ivan took over as leader with his two brothers by his side.
But he often takes to Twitter to insist that his father is still head of the Cartel.
After El Chapo’s arrest in 2016, he tweeted: “I’ve got my hand on the wheel. I can’t give up the responsibility my father has given me and worked so hard for. The Guzman era continues to reign.
“I want to make it very clear, there’s no successor to my father, not just anyone can fill these shoes. He is still giving orders.”
The 35-year-old was the second of four children born to El Chapo’s first wife María Salazar Hernández, but older brother Cesar was killed by a rival cartel in 2012.
A self-confessed playboy, Ivan constantly gloats about his party lifestyle, surrounding himself with scantily-clad girls and posting pictures from exclusive nightclubs.
On one picture, in which he is boarding a private jet, he wrote: “I distract myself with women, but always on top of business.”
In another, the bachelor – dubbed “Ivan the Terrible” by one follower – crouches down in front of a silver Mercedes hugging a pet lion.
Recent posts include a bottle of £120 liqueur Don Julia 1942, a £50,000 Jeep Cherakona and a fleet of supercars with the caption “Always thank God for everything he gives you.”
Kidnapped for £2 million ransom
The swaggering crime boss is rivalled in his luxury lifestyle by younger brother Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar – known as Alfredo or Alfredito.
Alfredo recently posted a picture of himself flying a private jet with the caption: “Ok plebs, I’m leaving you behind.”
He also posts pictures of his pet lion cubs with one sitting on the boot of his red Bentley.
Like his brother, Alfredo is fond of weapons and posts pictures of guns as well as heavily-armed members of the cartel.
In one, he holds an arsenal of weapons with the caption, “for those who want to step onto my turf, I give them my army”.
In another, he took a gun to the cinema, posting a picture of popcorn and a gun with the caption, “I’ve got my toy with me in case anyone wants to make things exciting.”
Alfredo was indicted for drug trafficking in Illinois in 2009 and in 2016, he was kidnapped by a rival drug gang who held him at gunpoint in a restaurant before marching him out.
Self-confessed ‘murderer’
El Chapo’s daughter, Alejandrina Gisselle, is staunch defender of her cocaine baron dad and once boasted, “I’m beautiful because of my mother, intelligent because of my father, and a murderer because of me”.
In the week her father was sentenced, Alejandro launched her new line of clothing and accessories named El Chapo 701, featuring his face on various T-shirts and tops.
On her website she insists her father is “a friend of everyone,” a “willing leader” and “a humble orange vendor with many goals and great ambition.”
Intended heir killed in hail of 500 bullets
El Chapo’s second marriage, to wanted drug runner Griselda Lopez Perez, produced three boys, Edgar, Ovidio and Joaquin.
Although not his oldest son, Edgar was his father’s chosen successor but was kept out of the family business until he finished school.
But at 22, against his father’s wishes he travelled to Chicago on a drug deal and on his return, attempted to sneak back into his father’s compound in Culiacan in a red SUV.
The car was reportedly fired on by El Chapo’s own men, as it wasn’t recognised, and took 500 bullets, killing Edgar and his friend instantly.
Tigers and gold-plated guns
Like his half-brothers, Joaquin – who calls himself El Chino Anthrax – loves the high life.
In one Twitter post he is pictured with Paris Hilton with the hashtag “El Chino’s babes.”
Another has a picture of a gold-plated, diamond-encrusted hand gun and he often posts pictures of himself clubbing as well as his pet tiger chained to the back of his luxury 4×4.
In contrast, Ovidio – whose arrest caused the eruption of violence this week – prefers the quiet life.
His Twitter profile says: “I am not into luxury and sports cars, I like horses and fine roosters.”
But he continues to be heavily involved in the cartel and often posts messages from the ranch in Culiacan showing a semi-automatic in his SUV, with messages like: “Let’s go to work because there are dogs that want to get to the ranch.”
He recently retweeted a message from the family business suggesting El Chapo still pulls the strings.
It read: “That the lord is confined does not mean that he does not continue giving orders.”
Illegitimate daughters and twins living the high life
El Chapo’s third wife , former beauty queen Emma Coronel Aispuro, married El Chapo in 2007 and stood by him at his trial.
The mother of twin eight-year-olds, Emali and Maria Joaquina, she frequently posts pictured of exotic holidays on her Instagram and recently threw a lavish barbie-themed party for the girls.
Californian woman Rosa Isela Guzmán Ortiz is widely believed to be El Chapo’s oldest daughter, born from an affair with a “woman in Jalisco”, according to his mother.
Rosa has claimed that El Chapo visited her in the US twice and writes to her from prison.
Kim Guzman Dolci and Laisha Guzman are also reported to be daughters of El Chapo, from his many extra-marital flings, but little is known about them.
On jailing El Chapo, the US authorities demanded he pay back £10million of the cartel’s drug profits.
But, judging by his children’s lifestyle, there’s still plenty to go round.
El Chapo’s wife (far right) and twin daughters at the New York trial