'El Chapo' son hauled before judge in Chicago, where attorney insists there is 'no agreement' with the feds
The defense attorney representing two sons of drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera insisted Tuesday that the latest son to fall into U.S. custody has no deal with the feds — and he derided rumors about the arrest as a story that seems to change “every few minutes.”
“We’ve got no agreement with the government,” defense attorney Jeffrey Lichtman insisted. “There has never been an agreement with the government, with Joaquin Guzman Lopez. There is no agreement. Period. That’s it.”
Lichtman made his comments in the lobby of the Dirksen Federal Courthouse moments after the 38-year-old Guzman Lopez was arraigned before U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman. Guzman Lopez faces five criminal counts in an indictment alleging a massive drug conspiracy, including one that carries the death penalty.
Guzman Lopez wore an orange jumpsuit as he appeared in court with a thin beard on his face. He kept his unshackled hands either behind his back or at his side during the hearing. And he leaned forward at the waist, toward a microphone, to answer the judge’s questions.
“Not guilty, your honor,” he said when she asked for his plea.
Lichtman and Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Erskine pointed out to the judge that Lichtman also represents Guzman Lopez’s brother, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, in the same case. Lichtman said he had explained any potential conflicts to the two brothers, and prosecutors did not object. The brothers are each due back in court Sept. 30.
The routine hearing shed no additional light on the circumstances of Joaquin Guzman Lopez’s arrival in the United States, though. Taken into custody along with him was Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada Garcia, 76, the co-founder of the notorious Sinaloa drug cartel.
His infamous counterpart, “El Chapo,” is already serving a life sentence in Colorado following his 2019 conviction in Brooklyn’s federal court. Zambada had eluded authorities for decades and never set foot in a prison until a plane carrying him and Joaquin Guzman Lopez landed Thursday in New Mexico.
Zambada’s attorney has said his client did not end up there on his own free will, though.
“My client neither surrendered nor negotiated any terms with the U.S. government,” attorney Frank Perez said in a statement. “Joaquin Guzman Lopez forcibly kidnapped my client. He was ambushed, thrown to the ground, and handcuffed by six men in military uniforms and Joaquin. His legs were tied, and a black bag was placed over his head.”
Zambada was thrown in the back of a pickup truck, forced onto a plane and tied to the seat by Joaquin Guzman Lopez, Perez added.
A U.S. law enforcement official familiar with the matter said Zambada was actually duped into flying into the United States. The cartel leader got on an airplane believing he was going somewhere else, the official said. Zambada appeared in federal court in El Paso, Texas, on Friday morning and is being held without bond.
Lichtman had little to say Tuesday about the details of the arrests, telling reporters he’s “not here to respond to the Internet.”
“He’s not being accused of kidnapping,” Lichtman said of Joaquin Guzman Lopez. “When the government accuses him, then I’ll take notice. When lawyers who are trying to score points with the media make accusations then, you know, I ignore that because it’s meaningless.”
Four “El Chapo” sons, known as the “Chapitos,” were charged in 2023 in an indictment that accused them of taking control of their father’s empire and strengthening their grip through brutal violence.
Charged in the indictment were Joaquin Guzman Lopez, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar and Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar.
The men were accused by Justice Department officials of torturing their enemies by electrocuting them, waterboarding them and feeding them alive to tigers.
Contributing: AP