US asks for El Chapo’s son to be extradited

After the United States had put notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán behind bars for life, they now want to bring his son to justice as well. The U.S. Embassy in Mexico City on Monday (local time) submitted an extradition request for 32-year-old Ovidio Guzmán to the Mexican State Department and Attorney General, a Mexican government official who wishes to remain anonymous.

US authorities and experts believe that Ovidio Guzmán and his three brothers took over command of the Sinaloa drug cartel after their father’s arrest. The United States has offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest of Oividio Guzmán. In early January, he was finally caught in Culiacan, the capital of the state of Sinaloa. The operation killed 29 people: 10 military personnel and 19 suspected criminals.

Immediately after his arrest, Ovidio Guzmán obtained a court order preventing his immediate extradition to the United States. A judge gave US authorities until March 5 to file an extradition request.

Ovidio Guzman is said to be responsible for drug trafficking and multiple murders

The US accuses El Chapo’s son of overseeing nearly a dozen laboratories that produce the synthetic drug methamphetamine in the state of Sinaloa and of being involved in the cocaine and marijuana trade. In addition, he would have committed several murders. For their part, the Mexican authorities are investigating Ovidio Guzmán for his involvement in organized crime and other crimes.

The father of Ovidio Guzmán, the founder of the Sinaloa Cartel, was at times one of the most wanted criminals in the world. In 2019, El Chapo was sentenced to life imprisonment by a court in New York for drug trafficking, money laundering and weapons crimes, among other things. The 65-year-old is now in a mountain prison in Colorado, one of the highest security prisons in the United States. (AFP)

Source: Blick