Sons Of 'El Chapo' Indicted On Drug Conspiracy Charge

By Vanessa Romo / NPR

Published February 21, 2019 at 2:02 PM PST

This story was published more than 5 years ago.

Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán was extradited to the U.S. in 2017 after two successful escapes from Mexican prisons. On Thursday, the Justice Department announced two of his sons have been indicted on a drug conspiracy charge. Both brothers are believed to be fugitives in Mexico.

Two sons of the infamous cartel kinpgin Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán have been indicted on a drug conspiracy charge, the Justice Department said on Thursday.

Joaquín Guzmán Lopez, 34, and Ovidio Guzmán Lopez, 28, who officials say are both living as fugitives in Mexico, have been indicted on a charge of conspiracy to import and distribute a variety of narcotics across the border into the United States for about a decade.

In a statement, the department said the one-count indictment alleges "that from in or around April 2008, through April 2018, they conspired to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana from Mexico and elsewhere for importation into the United States."

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The indictment was unsealed last week.

The move indicates the government continues its efforts to dismantle the notoriously violent Sinaloa cartel, following the conviction of its former leader last week.

The elder Guzmán was extradited to the U.S. in 2017 after twice escaping from Mexican prisons. He was found guilty in a New York City court of all 10 drug trafficking charges earlier this month.