NEW YORK: The son of former Sinaloa drug cartel leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a series of charges linked to one of the world’s largest illegal narcotics operations, prosecutors said.
Joaquin Guzman Lopez was arrested in a scheme allegedly orchestrated by Washington without the involvement of Mexico, in which he was apprehended in Texas last Thursday.
Many details of the arrest operation, which also took cartel co-founder Ismael Zambada Garcia, known as “El Mayo,” into U.S. custody remain unclear.
U.S. media cited law enforcement sources as saying that Zambada was unwittingly lured across the Mexican border by Guzman Lopez, one of “El Chapo’s” four sons.
Guzman Lopez was indicted by a federal grand jury on drug trafficking, money laundering and weapons charges, according to court documents previously released by prosecutors.
CNN reported that Guzman Lopez’s attorney, Jeffrey Lichtman, told reporters that his client faces the death penalty in the case. Lichtman did not return AFP’s request for comment.
“There was no deal between Joaquin Guzman and the government. Period,” Lichtman told reporters in Chicago.
Zambada pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking and money laundering charges before a federal judge in Texas on Friday and has another court appearance scheduled for Thursday in El Paso.
