El Chapo's Son Pleads Not Guilty to US Drug Charges After Dramatic Surrender

On a historic day, Joaquín Guzmán López, the son of the notorious Mexican drug lord El Chapo, stood in a Federal District Court in Chicago and firmly pleaded not guilty to federal drug conspiracy charges. This defiant plea comes just five days after a daring and unprecedented event that sent shockwaves through both the Mexican and US law enforcement communities.

The dramatic turn of events unfolded when Guzmán López orchestrated a private flight across the border and surrendered himself, along with his father's former business partner, to US officials at an airport near El Paso. This audacious move marked the first time he faced an American judge since being charged in Chicago the previous year for his alleged involvement as a high-ranking member of the Sinaloa drug cartel.

The Shocking Abduction

Adding to the already surreal circumstances, federal officials revealed that just days before the surrender, Guzmán López was implicated in the kidnapping of Ismael Zambada García, his father's onetime partner in crime. The elaborate scheme involved luring Zambada García from his mountain hide-out to the Mexican city of Culiacán, a well-known stronghold for the Sinaloa cartel. After a violent clash between their respective bodyguards, Guzmán López reportedly whisked his captive onto a private plane and transported him across the border into the waiting hands of US federal agents.

The brazen and cinematic nature of the abduction has captivated Mexico, prompting widespread speculation and questions about the potential motives and circumstances surrounding Guzmán López's actions. Of particular interest is the inquiry into whether the son, believed to be in his late 30s, had struck any form of collaboration or agreement with the US authorities who ultimately apprehended both him and Zambada García, aged 76, at an airport in Santa Teresa, N.M.