El Chapo Case: Chicago Twin Pedro Flores Tied to Sinaloa Cartel Says Prosecutors Gave His Family Immunity Against Prosecution

Chicago twin Pedro Flores, associated with Sinaloa Cartel boss Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera, testified Monday that he was promised that no one in his family would be prosecuted for any drug-related activities.

Pedro and his twin brother, Margarito Flores, helped federal authorities build a case against El Chapo. The Flores brothers, who were once the biggest drug traffickers in Chicago, were known to the Sinaloa Cartel as "The Twins."

According to Chicago Tribune, Pedro's testimony via a video link turned up in the money laundering case against his wife, Vivianna Lopez, and his sister-in-law, Valerie Gaytan.

Lopez and Gaytan were the lead defendants in a federal money laundering case in relation to their husbands' drug dealing. They were accused of hiding millions of dollars of their husbands' drug proceeds.

Pedro said former Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Shakeshaft, the lead prosecutor handling his case, had promised him during their first in-person meeting in Monterrey, Mexico in 2008 that no one in his family would be charged.

When asked if Shakeshaft's promise was ever repeated, Pedro told U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly: "Yes, multiple times throughout my cooperation."

However, the Chicago drug kingpin admitted that the promise of immunity was never put in writing as he thought it was already being taken care of. He also acknowledged that it was not mentioned in the plea agreement he and his twin brother signed in secret in 2012.

Shakeshaft was supposed to testify about the negotiations. However, he died last Tuesday after years of health issues.

Federal agents testified on Monday that they never heard Shakeshaft make the immunity promise. Chicago prosecutors also maintained that no promise of immunity was ever extended to the Chicago's Flores twins' wives.

During cross-examination, Assistant U.S. Attorney Erika Csicsila asked Pedro if he understood that the government cannot immunize someone for something they do not know about.

Pedro Flores replied that he was "not sure" as he was not an attorney. Also under questioning on Monday was Gaytan, who said one of the Chicago twins' demands for cooperating against El Chapo was immunity for their family.

Gaytan also testified about the fallout of being a drug kingpin's wife and children, claiming they will be in danger for the rest of their lives, ABC 7 Chicago reported.

Sister-in-Law of One of Chicago's Flores Twins Tied to Sinaloa Cartel Pleads Guilty

Last March, Bianca Finnigan, a sister-in-law of Pedro Flores, pleaded guilty to a money laundering conspiracy. Finnigan admitted helping her sister, Vivianna Lopez, spend drug money on airfare, private school tuition, and an exercise bike, Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Both wives of the Flores twins have pleaded not guilty to the alleged scheme that hid millions of cartel drug profits that started in 2008.

Finnigan is reportedly the second defendant in the case of the Flores twins' wives to cut a deal with prosecutors and avoid a criminal trial. She has previously pleaded not guilty.

Armando Flores, an older brother of the Flores twins, was the first to plead guilty to participating in a money-laundering conspiracy. He admitted that he hid millions of cash from his brothers' drug proceeds under his porch in Texas after the twins surrendered and agreed to cooperate with authorities in 2008.

Chicago's Flores Twins Became Informants in Case Against Sinaloa Cartel Boss' El Chapo

The Flores brothers were sentenced in 2015 to 14 years in prison and were released in 2020 into witness protection. The twin brothers were given relatively lenient sentences in exchange for cooperating in the case against El Chapo.

They became key informants in the case after they surrendered to authorities. The Flores twins admitted smuggling at least 1,500 kilograms of cocaine into the U.S. every month between 2005 and 2008.

Their plea agreements further noted that they sent more than $930 million in "bulk cash" back to the Sinaloa Cartel.

During their 2015 sentencing, a federal judge told the twins that they would always have to worry about being hunted down by Sinaloa Cartel hitmen after their decisions to cooperate with prosecutors to apprehend El Chapo.

At the time, the judge said the Flores brothers and their families would always have to look over their shoulders. But the Flores twins still agreed to cooperate, and the prosecutors, in return, asked for an even lighter sentence for them.

The Sinaloa Cartel is considered one of the world's most powerful drug trafficking syndicates. The Mexican drug cartel has been known to carry out assassinations, murders, and torture to protect its turf.

The group was founded in the late 1980s and headed by El Chapo. Under El Chapo's leadership, the Sinaloa Cartel earned its reputation through violence and outfought several rival groups.

El Chapo was sentenced to spend the rest of his days in the ADX "supermax" prison in Florence, Colorado after being sentenced to life imprisonment in 2019.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

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