It’s a crime family affair.
The former wife of imprisoned Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, along with 16 of his family members, crossed the US southern border in a confidential agreement with authorities, as per reports.
Griselda Lopez Perez, who was once wed to the infamous head of the Sinaloa cartel, along with her daughter and other relatives, entered the United States at the Tijuana/San Diego border last Friday — an action thought to be linked to the government’s proceedings against El Chapo’s youngest son, according to Mexico News Daily.
“It’s evident that their migration to the United States is related to a negotiation or plea deal opportunity arranged by the Department of Justice,” Mexican Security Secretary Omar Garcia Harfuch commented to the Spanish-speaking news outlet Radio Formula on Wednesday.
Video footage posted on X by the outlet on Tuesday shows the drug trafficker’s family lugging suitcases as they wait to be processed at the border — reportedly packing $70,000 in cash with them.
Griselda’s son with the drug lord, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, a narcotrafficker known as “El Raton,” or the Mouse, was extradited to the US in September 2023, eight months after he was captured in a massive raid by heavily armed Mexican police that left 29 dead.
Guzman Lopez, 35, is one of the four El Chapo sons known as “Los Chapitos,” and was charged with drug trafficking, money laundering and other counts after being extradited to the US.
According to court records, he pleaded guilty to five counts in the federal indictment and was scheduled for a “status hearing” in the case in Illinois on Monday — three days after his mom crossed the border.
However, those proceedings were scrapped, and he is now due to appear for a plea hearing on July 9.
US prosecutors have not revealed the terms of a possible plea offer nor how the family’s arrival may be tied to it. The Mexican ministry told CNN that the relatives themselves were not wanted on charges there.
The elder Guzman was once one of the most powerful drug traffickers in the world. Under his leadership, the Sinaloa cartel grew to one of the largest importers of narcotics into the US.
He was arrested and extradited to the US in 2017 and was later convicted on drug trafficking, money laundering and other charges and sentenced to life in prison.
He is being held at ADX Florence, a supermax prison in Colorado.
