ByBarb Markoff, Christine Tressel and Tom Jones and Chuck Goudie
Monday, October 21, 2024 7:18PM
Chicago drug cartel cases play role in surge of Mexico murdersMore than 150 people have been murdered in Mexico the past month, police said. They attribute the explosion of violence to rival drug cartels trying to make moves on power gaps fol
CHICAGO (WLS) — The jailed sons of the world’s nastiest drug lord, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, are in negotiations to cooperate with the US justice system that has had their family cartel in the crosshairs for decades.
Please note: The above video is from a previous, related report
This long-suspected possible deal was confirmed Monday by the Guzmán family’s attorney, Jeffrey Lichtman of New York and ends several months of speculation about two of the kin known as “Los Chapitos.” The confirmation of a deal in the works was made during a status hearing in Chicago district court.
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Ovidio Guzman appeared in Chicago federal court and acknowledged that attorney Lichtman could represent him and his brother Joaquin, and he also waived any conflict that might arise from Lichtman having defended their father, the Sinaloa cartel founder and long-time leader El Chapo. The elder Guzman remains in solitary confinement in Colorado’s supermax prison where he is serving a life sentence.
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All of this unfolded after Joaquin was arrested during the mysterious capture of Sinaloa co-founder and elder statesman Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada in July. El Mayo has been sent to New York for criminal trial proceedings there and Joaquin was dispatched to Chicago to face federal charges here, along with his brother Ovidio who had already been in custody.
Monday’s confirmation of a possible plea deal in court and outside of the courtroom is the first time negotiations with authorities have been confirmed.
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