Son Of 'El Chapo' Guzman Had 'El Mayo' Zambada Drugged And Loaded To a Plane Headed To The U.S.: Plea Bargain

Joaquin Guzman Lopez, son of "El Chapo" Guzman, said he ordered a group of armed men drug fellow cartel kingpin Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada in the operation where he took him to the U.S. and turned him over to local authorities, according to his plea bargain.

The action was aimed at showing willingness to cooperate with Washington, according to Andrew Erskine, an attorney representing the U.S. He added that the U.S. does not sanction such behavior and Guzman Lopez wouldn't get leniency because of it.

Without naming him, Guzman Lopez claimed that he and others entered a room where Zambada was waiting to meet with him through a window, seized him, put a bag over his head and put him on a plane. There he was zip tied, given sedatives and taken to an airport in New Mexico, near the border with Texas. Zambada's account was similar. He has also pleaded guilty to federal charges related to violent drug trafficking he led for years alongside El Chapo for the Sinaloa Cartel.

Guzmán López, also known as "El Güero," pleaded guilty to two counts of drug trafficking and continuing criminal enterprise as a member of Los Chapitos, the Sinaloa Cartel faction led by other sons of El Chapo, who have run the family business since their father's arrest in 2016.

As part of his plea deal, El Güero admitted to helping oversee the production and smuggling of large quantities of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana and fentanyl into the United States, The Associated Press reported.

El Güero was arrested in July 2024 alongside Sinaloa Cartel co-founder Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada after they arrived in the U.S. on a private plane as part of a plan to hand his godfather over to U.S. authorities. His attorney, Jeffrey Lichtman, said his client is now expected to avoid life in prison as a result of the plea bargain. "The government has been very fair with Joaquín thus far," he told reporters after the court hearing. "I do appreciate the fact that the Mexican government didn't interfere."

Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman ordered that El Güero return to court on June 1, 2026, for a status hearing prior to sentencing.

Similarly to El Güero, his brother Ovidio "El Ratón" Guzmán pleaded guilty to four drug-related charges in Chicago earlier this year as part of a deal that included drug trafficking, money laundering and firearms charges tied to his leadership role in the cartel.