Son of drug kingpin ‘El Chapo’ pleads not guilty to drug trafficking charges in Chicago

Joaquin Guzman Lopez was arrested in Texas last week along with Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada, a fellow member of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel

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Joaquin Guzman Lopez, son of the Sinaloa Cartel’s co-founder, Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman, right, and Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada Garcia, another co-founder of the cartel. Photo: AFP

Published: 4:10am, 31 Jul 2024Updated: 3:15pm, 31 Jul 2024

Joaquin Guzman Lopez, a son of notorious drug kingpin “El Chapo”, pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking and other charges on Tuesday, days after an astonishing capture in the United States.

Guzman Lopez, dressed in an orange jumpsuit, stood with feet shackled as federal prosecutors in Chicago detailed a five-count indictment that also includes weapons charges.

He declined a Spanish interpreter and answered most of US District Judge Sharon Coleman’s questions designed to determine if he understood the proceedings with a simple, “Yes, your honour”.

Guzman Lopez and Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, a long-time member of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel were arrested by US authorities in the El Paso, Texas-area last week, according to the Justice Department.

Mexican drug lord Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman in 2017. File photo: US law enforcement via AP

Both men, who face multiple charges in the US, oversaw the trafficking of “tens of thousands of pounds of drugs into the United States, along with related violence”, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).