Joaquin Guzman Lopez, son of the famous Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, will plead guilty next week to drug trafficking charges in the United States, court documents show.
Guzman Lopez was arrested in Texas in July 2024. He first pleaded not guilty. He will appear in Chicago’s US District Court on Monday at 1:30 p.m. local time (19:30 GMT) to change his plea.
His brother, Ovidio Guzman, pleaded guilty in July 2025 to conspiracy and being part of a criminal group. Ovidio said he and his brothers, called “Los Chapitos” or Little Chapos, took over their father’s cartel after El Chapo was arrested in 2016.
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Mexican news outlet MVS Noticias said the plea “could mark a new chapter in the history of drug trafficking.” ABC 7 Chicago reported that prosecutors will not seek the death penalty and that a plea deal may be in progress.
Guzman Lopez was arrested after arriving in Texas with Sinaloa cartel co-founder Ismael “Mayo” Zambada. Zambada said he was tricked about the plane’s destination.
The arrest caused clashes within the cartel. About 1,200 people were killed and 1,400 went missing in Mexico.
US authorities say the cartel trafficked fentanyl, a drug linked to tens of thousands of deaths in the United States.
El Chapo, 68, is serving a life sentence in a Colorado prison.