Inside the Legal Negotiations Between 7 Mexican Narcos and the United States Government

With the arrests and extraditions of several key figures in the world of Mexican organized crime, many are negotiating with the American government for lighter sentences. Leaders from cartels all over Mexico are currently in the process of getting better deals for themselves and their families.

Ovidio Guzmán López

On July 11, 2025, Ovidio Guzmán López, son of notorious kingpin Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán and a senior figure in the cartel faction known as "Los Chapitos," pleaded guilty in the Northern District of Illinois in a case brought by the U.S. Attorney's Office-Chicago. He admitted to federal drug charges, including two counts of drug distribution and two counts of participating in a continuing criminal enterprise.

Prosecutors allege his operation smuggled large amounts of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and fentanyl into the United States and used violence against law enforcement and rival traffickers. Although he faces the possibility of life in prison under U.S. law, sentencing has not yet been scheduled. In May of this year, 17 of his family members were allowed to enter the U.S. in a deal he made with the Trump administration.

Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada

Less than two months later, on August 25, 2025, Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada García, co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel, pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of New York. Zambada admitted that for decades he commanded cocaine and fentanyl trafficking operations and ordered murders as part of a continuing criminal enterprise and a racketeering conspiracy.

The DOJ stated that he "has now been held accountable for the tons of illegal narcotics, including cocaine and fentanyl, that he and his organization trafficked for decades, and the murders and other acts of violence committed in furtherance of that enterprise."

Vicente "El Viceroy" Carrillo Fuentes

The former boss of the Juárez Cartel, known as "El Viceroy," was arrested in 2014 and extradited to the U.S. and arraigned in Brooklyn in February of this year. A hearing revealed that his legal team and prosecutors have been negotiating a guilty plea agreement. A judge granted a 90-day continuance to allow negotiations to continue. However, no formal plea has been entered.

Abigael "El Cuini" González Valencia

"El Cuini" is a financial operator aligned with the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) via the affiliate Los Cuinis, is reported to be cooperating with U.S. authorities and has had court dates postponed. A U.S. court appearance was postponed in October 2025, reportedly as part of the cooperation and negotiation process.

Joaquín "El Güero Moreno" Guzmán López

The son of notorious Mexican drug kingpin Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán was arrested in Texas in July 2024 after arriving on a private plane in connection with charges linked to the Sinaloa Cartel. Federal prosecutors in Chicago have charged him with offenses including international drug trafficking, money laundering, and conspiracy to distribute drugs. In a May 2025 court filing, the U.S. government announced it will not seek the death penalty if he is convicted.

As of now, Guzmán López remains in U.S. custody, having pleaded not guilty to the charges. Though his father's network is under intense pressure, there is no public record that he has entered into a plea deal or committed to cooperating with prosecutors. Reports of negotiations with his brother's team suggest he may eventually follow a similar path, but at this moment, his case remains firmly in the pretrial stage.

Rubén "El Menchito" Oseguera González

Nephew to "El Cuini" and U.S.-born son to the infamous Nemesio "El Mencho" Oseguera Cervantes, El Menchito was extradited to the United States in February 2020, where he faced charges of conspiring to import tons of cocaine and methamphetamine and using firearms in furtherance of the conspiracy.

A federal jury in Washington, D.C., convicted him in September 2024, including evidence that he ordered the downing of a Mexican military helicopter. On March 7, 2025, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell sentenced El Menchito to life in prison plus 30 years, and ordered him to forfeit more than $6 billion in drug-trafficking proceeds.

Rafael Caro Quintero

The co-founder of the Guadalajara Cartel in the late 1970s is widely regarded by U.S. authorities as one of the pioneer figures of large-scale drug trafficking into the United States. His criminal enterprise, known as the "Caro Quintero DTO," is alleged to have imported multi-ton quantities of marijuana, heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine, laundering millions of dollars back into Mexico.

Caro Quintero was implicated in the 1985 kidnapping, torture, and murder of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent Enrique Camarena. He was arrested in Costa Rica in 1985, later imprisoned in Mexico, released in 2013 on a legal technicality, then captured again in 2022 and finally extradited to the United States on February 27, 2025, where he pleaded not guilty to charges that could carry the death penalty.