Ovidio Guzmanone of the sons of Mexican drug trafficker Joaquín “he Chapo” Guzman, He pleaded not guilty to all five charges on Monday. of which he is accused in the District Court of Chicago (USA), among them that of drug trafficking and money launderingindicated US media.
The one also known as “El Ratón” is accused of conspiring to distribute drugsbeing part of a criminal enterprise, exporting narcotics to the United States, carrying out financial transactions with the proceeds of illegal activities and illicitly using and carrying firearms.
Guzmán was extradited to the United States from Mexico last Friday and this was his first court appearance since then.
The newspaper The Chicago Tribune published that he was presented with an orange prisoner’s suit and shackles on his ankles. He listened to the session through an interpreter, but promptly addressed the judge, Sharon Johnson Coleman, in English.
You might be interested in: Extradition of Ovidio Guzmán, to avoid “politicking” in the US: AMLO
If found guilty, two of the charges carry life in prison. According to that local newspaper, within the framework of the extradition negotiation with the Mexican authorities, the death penalty was excluded.
The courtroom prohibited phones and other electronic devices in this hearing and had a strong police presence, with “at least” eight officers surrounding the accused and near the door, The Chicago Tribune reported.
His next court appearance is scheduled for next November.
Who is Ovidio Guzmán?
Guzmán was one of Washington’s most wanted drug traffickers for his involvement in fentanyl trafficking and was arrested by Mexican authorities last January.
In April of this year, the United States Justice filed charges in three different federal districts against him and three of his brothers for having allegedly assumed leadership of the Sinaloa cartel after the arrest and subsequent extradition of their father to the United States.
The Sinaloa cartel, according to the US, It is the “most powerful drug trafficking organization in the world” and is largely responsible for the production and manufacturing of fentanyl for distribution in the United States.where this drug, considered 50 times more powerful than heroin, is “the leading cause of death among Americans ages 18 to 49.”
Guzmán’s arrest, on January 5, took place days before the visit to Mexico of the US president, Joe Biden, on the occasion of the North American Leaders Summit, although the Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, denied then any relationship between the two facts.
This Monday, López Obrador affirmed that the extradition was carried out to avoid giving pretexts for “politicking” to the United States, which has its next presidential elections scheduled in November 2024.
It is important that no reason be given to those who use the issue of drug trafficking for political purposes in the United States. There are two topics that are used a lot when there are elections in the United States: drug trafficking and migration,” said the Mexican president in his morning press conference.
The last:
EFE International news agency based in Madrid and present in more than 110 countries.