Son of drug kingpin ‘El Chapo’ extradited to United States

A son of jailed drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera was extradited to the United States on Friday, nine months after his arrest in Mexico, a senior U.S. law enforcement official said.

Ovidio Guzman Lopez was in federal custody in Chicago and has been linked to violence and the drug trade, the official said. A joint operation between the DEA and the U.S. Marshals Service led to the extradition.

In a statement Friday night, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland called Guzman a leader of the Sinaloa Cartel — the powerful drug trafficking organization formerly led by Guzman’s father — and described the extradition as the most recent step to “attack” every aspect of the group.

“The fight against the cartels has involved incredible courage by United States law enforcement and Mexican law enforcement and military servicemembers, many of whom have given their lives in the pursuit of justice,” Garland said.

Guzman was taken into custody Jan. 5 in the Sinaloa city of Culiacán. Violence erupted in the city following his arrest, with alleged cartel members carjacking residents and setting vehicles on fire.