Federal prosecutors will not seek the death penalty for Joaquin Guzman Lopez — son of convicted Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman — if he is ultimately convicted of drug trafficking charges of his own in the U.S.
Federal prosecutors in Chicago said in a court filing dated May 23, “if the defendant is convicted, the government will not seek a sentence of death.”
The prosecution did not provide any further details about its decision not to seek the death penalty against Guzman Lopez.
His attorney, Jeffrey Lichtman, told Fox News Digital, “We’re obviously pleased with the result and hope to resolve Joaquin’s charges if possible.”
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Guzman Lopez and three of his brothers — known as the “Chapitos,” or little Chapos — were indicted on U.S. drug trafficking and money laundering charges involving their alleged leadership of the Sinaloa Cartel, after “El Chapo” was extradited to the U.S. in 2017.
In recent years, the brothers have led a faction of Mexico’s notorious Sinaloa Cartel that has been identified as a main exporter of fentanyl to the U.S.
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Federal prosecutors unsealed sprawling indictments in 2023 against dozens of members of the cartel, including the brothers, in a fentanyl-trafficking investigation.
In July, Joaquin Guzman Lopez was arrested in a dramatic capture by U.S. authorities in Texas with Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, a longtime leader of the Sinaloa Cartel.
Zambada has claimed that Joaquin Guzman Lopez kidnapped him and flew him aboard a private plane into the U.S., where Joaquin Guzman Lopez surrendered to authorities.
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The FBI alleges Zambada and Joaquin Guzman Lopez oversaw the trafficking of “tens of thousands of pounds of drugs into the United States, along with related violence.”
Zambada has also pleaded not guilty.
His attorneys told Reuters in February that he would be willing to plead guilty if prosecutors agreed to spare him the death penalty.
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“El Chapo” is currently serving a life sentence at a maximum-security prison in Colorado after he was convicted of drug trafficking in 2019.
Fox News Digital’s Stephen Sorace, Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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