El Chapo's Sons, the Los Chapitos, Among 28 Sinaloa Cartel Members Charged by U.S.

The U.S. Department of Justice has charged 28 members of Mexico's notorious Sinaloa Cartel, including four sons of drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera, who are collectively known as "Los Chapitos."

According to ABC 7, Attorney General Merrick Garland, together with Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) chief Anne Milgram and other top federal prosecutors, announced the charges on Friday.

The indictments charged four of El Chapos's sons - Ovidio Guzman Lopez, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar, and Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar.

The four Sinaloa Cartel leaders were accused of large-scale drug trafficking, money laundering, and "violent crimes."

Describing the violence of the Sinaloa Cartel, Garland said some of its members tortured its enemies and law enforcement officers in Mexico. In some cases, they also fed victims, some still alive, to tigers owned by El Chapo's sons.

Only three of the Los Chapitos remain at large as Ovidio Guzman was already arrested last January 5 by Mexican authorities in Mexico's Sinaloa state. He remains detained in Mexico pending extradition proceedings.

Aside from the Los Chapitos, charges were also filed against its alleged chemical suppliers, lab managers, fentanyl traffickers, security leaders, financiers, and weapons traffickers.

Chinese and Guatemalan Nationals Also Charged Alongside El Chapo Sons, Sinaloa Cartel Members

The U.S. Justice Department has also charged four Chinese nationals and one Guatemalan national allegedly involved in supplying precursor chemicals required to make fentanyl to the Sinaloa Cartel.

The indictments were filed in Illinois, New York, and Washington, D.C. According to the El Paso Times, two Chinese firms were also sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control on Friday.

The U.S. previously said that Chinese traffickers started to export precursor chemicals to Mexico after China began strictly controlling fentanyl. Mexican drug cartels then manufactured the drug and trafficked the illegal fentanyl pills north across the border.

The Sinaloa Cartel, headed by the Los Chapitos, is reportedly among the cartels obtaining precursor chemicals to manufacture synthetic drugs smuggled through Mexico and into the U.S.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid considered to be 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the powerful drug has become a major contributor to fatal and nonfatal overdoses in the U.S.

Most recent cases of fentanyl-related overdose are linked to illegally manufactured fentanyl, which is in different forms, including liquid and powder. Many people may not be aware that their drugs are laced with fentanyl.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said most of the fentanyl trafficked in the U.S. comes from the Sinaloa Cartel. Since 2019, fentanyl seizures by U.S. Customs and Border Protection have increased by over 400%.

Almost 107,000 Americans have already died from fentanyl-related overdoses in the U.S. in 2021, setting a record,

The Justice Department said eight of those charged on Friday had been arrested, and some of them are in the custody of Colombia, Greece, Guatemala, and the U.S.

El Chapo Sons: The Los Chapitos of Sinaloa Cartel

The four sons of El Chapo had reportedly assumed leadership roles in the Sinaloa Cartel after their father was arrested and extradited to the U.S.

Under the Los Chapitos' leadership, the Sinaloa Cartel remained one of Mexico's most powerful drug cartels. The U.S. State Department has already offered $5 million rewards for any information that could help federal agents arrest El Chapo's three sons.

The State Department previously said the Los Chapitos are high-ranking members of the Sinaloa Cartel, and each is subject to a federal indictment for their involvement in the illegal drug trade.

Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar and Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar reportedly run cartel operations together with their father's former right-hand man, Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada,

The Los Chapitos have been reportedly at odds with their uncle, Aureliano "El Guano" Guzman. El Chapo's brother is also reportedly a high-ranking member of the Sinaloa Cartel.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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