CHICAGO (AP) — Two sons of notorious Mexican drug kingpin “El Chapo” facing sweeping drug-trafficking charges in the U.S. are in plea negotiations with the federal government, attorneys acknowledged Tuesday in a Chicago courtroom.
Neither Ovidio Guzmán López, 34, nor Joaquin Guzmán López, 38, appeared at the brief hearing.
Word of a possible deal for Ovidio Guzman Lopez, who has pleaded not guilty, was first disclosed during an October court date. It came months after his brother, Joaquin Guzmán López, was arrested in an astonishing capture by U.S. authorities in Texas with Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, a longtime leader of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel.
Attorneys on Tuesday also publicly confirmed plea negotiations recently began for Joaquin Guzmán López, who has also pleaded not guilty.
“We need a bit more time,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Erskine said in court. “We're trying to explore whether there might be a global resolution.”
He did not elaborate in court and declined to talk to reporters afterward.
Zambada had eluded U.S. authorities for years. He was believed to be more involved in daily operations of the cartel than his better-known and flashier boss, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán, who was sentenced to life in prison in the U.S. in 2019.
In recent years, Guzmán’s sons have led a faction of the cartel known as the “Chapitos,” or little Chapos, that has been identified as a main exporter of fentanyl to the U.S. In 2023, federal prosecutors unsealed sprawling indictments against dozens of members of the Sinaloa cartel, including the brothers, in a fentanyl-trafficking investigation.
The FBI alleges Zambada and Joaquin Guzmán López oversaw the trafficking of “tens of thousands of pounds of drugs into the United States, along with related violence.” Zambada is due in court in New York next week.
The men’s dramatic July capture — with many details still unknown — has sparked theories about how federal authorities pulled it off. It also prompted a surge in violence in Mexico’s northern state of Sinaloa as two factions of the Sinaloa cartel clashed.
Zambada’s attorney claims his client was kidnapped by Joaquin Guzmán López and brought to the U.S. aboard a private plane that landed near El Paso. The brothers’ defense attorney Jeffrey Lichtman has dismissed those claims and previously denied any government cooperation.
He did not offer any details during Tuesday's hearing, which he attended via phone.
Ovidio Guzmán López is due in court Feb. 27. Joaquin Guzmán López's next court date is March 19.
FILE - This image provided by the U.S. Department of State shows Joaquín Guzmán López, after he was arrested by U.S. authorities in Texas. (U.S. Department of State via AP File)
FILE - This frame grab from video, provided by the Mexican government, shows Ovidio Guzman Lopez being detained in Culiacan, Mexico, Oct. 17, 2019. (CEPROPIE via AP File)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — “Wicked” is the leading nominee for the 31st Screen Actors Guild Awards, with the Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown” following closely behind.
Out-of-control wildfires that swept across Los Angeles and Southern California on Tuesday night forced the Screen Actors Guild to cancel its plans to announce the nominations live Wednesday morning. The nominations were instead issued by press release.
Notable television nominees include “Shōgun,” “Abbott Elementary,” “The Bear” and “Hacks.”
The SAG Awards, hosted by Kristen Bell, will streamed live on Netflix on Feb. 23. Bell is a nominee for the Netflix comedy series “Nobody Wants This,” as is her co-star Adam Brody.
Here's a complete list of nominees:
“A Complete Unknown”; “Anora”; “Conclave”; “Emilia Pérez”; “Wicked.”
Adrien Brody, “The Brutalist”; Timothée Chalamet, “A Complete Unknown”; Daniel Craig, “Queer”; Colman Domingo, “Sing Sing”; Ralph Fiennes, “Conclave.”
Pamela Anderson, “The Last Showgirl”; Cynthia Erivo, “Wicked”; Karla Sofía Gascón, “Emilia Pérez”; Mikey Madison, “Anora”; Demi Moore, “The Substance.”
Jonathan Bailey, “Wicked”; Yura Borisov, “Anora”; Kieran Culkin, “A Complete Unknown”; Edward Norton, “A Complete Unknown”; Jeremy Strong, “The Apprentice.”
Monica Barbaro, “A Complete Unknown”; Jamie Lee Curtis, “The Last Showgirl”; Danielle Deadwyler, “The Piano Lesson”; Ariana Grande, “Wicked”; Zoe Saldaña, “Emilia Pérez.”
“Deadpool & Wolverine”; “Dune: Part Two”; “The Fall Guy”; “Gladiator II”; “Wicked.”
“Bridgerton”; “The Day of the Jackal”; “The Diplomat”; "Shōgun”; “Slow Horses.”
“Abbott Elementary”; “The Bear”; “Hacks”; “Only Murders in the Building”; “Shrinking.”
Tadanobu Asano, “Shōgun”; Jeff Bridges, “The Old Man,” Gary Oldman, “Slow Horses”; Eddie Redmayne, “The Day of the Jackal,"; Hiroyuki Sanada, “Shōgun.”
Kathy Bates, “Matlock”; Nicola Coughlin, “Bridgerton”; Allison Janney, “The Diplomat”; Keri Russell, “The Diplomat”; Anna Sawai, “Shōgun.”
Adam Brody, “Nobody Wants This”; Ted Danson, “A Man on the Inside”; Harrison Ford, “Shrinking”; Martin Short, “Only Murders in the Building”; Jeremy Allen White, “The Bear.”
Kristen Bell, “Nobody Wants This”; Quinta Brunson, “Abbott Elementary”; Liza Colón-Zayas, “The Bear”; Ayo Edebiri, “The Bear”; Jean Smart, “Hacks.”
Javier Bardem, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story”; Colin Farrell, “The Penguin”; Richard Gadd, “Baby Reindeer”; Kevin Kline, “Disclaimer”; Andrew Scott, “Ripley.”
Kathy Bates," “The Great Lillian Hall”; Cate Blanchett, “Disclaimer”; Jodie Foster, “True Detective: Night Country”; Lily Gladstone, “Under the Bridge”; Jessica Gunning, “Baby Reindeer”; Cristin Milioti, “The Penguin.”
“The Boys”; “Fallout”; “House of the Dragon”; “The Penguin”; “Shōgun.”
Cosmo Jarvis, from left, Anna Sawai, Hiroyuki Sanada, and Tadanobu Asano pose in the press room with the award for best television series - drama for "Shogun" during the 82nd Golden Globes on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Adriana Paz, from left, Edgar Ramirez, Selena Gomez, Jacques Audiard, Karla Sofia Gascon, and Zoe Saldana pose in the press room with the award for best motion picture - musical or comedy for "Emilia Perez" during the 82nd Golden Globes on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Adrien Brody poses in the press room with the award for best performance by a male actor in a motion picture - drama for "The Brutalist" during the 82nd Golden Globes on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Cynthia Erivo arrives at the 82nd Golden Globes on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Kristen Bell arrives at the 82nd Golden Globes on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
