America
Son of Mexican Drug Kingpin Pleads Not Guilty in U.S. Court
July 31 :
a court in Chicago, Illinois, heard a not-guilty plea from Joaquin Guzman Lopez, the son of Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, according to Al Jazeera. The charges stem from cocaine trafficking. On Tuesday, federal prosecutors included accusations including guns in the five-count indictment that was handed down against Guzman Lopez. The next hearing in this matter is scheduled for September 30, according to the newspaper, and US District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman has ordered his detention pending trial.
This hearing was held just days after US officials in the El Paso, Texas area detained Guzman Lopez and Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, a longstanding member of Mexico's Sinaloa cartel, according to Al Jazeera's reporting citing the US Department of Justice. An official stated last week that Guzman Lopez desired to surrender while Zambada refused. So, he convinced Zambada they were going real estate hunting in Mexico before getting him on a propeller plane. Frank Perez, the attorney for Zambada, said that Guzman Lopez "forcibly kidnapped" Zambada and transported him to the United States. Last Monday, in an El Paso case, Zambada entered a not guilty plea to drug charges. In order to determine what led to the two individuals' detention, Mexico launched an investigation into the matter.
Following their successful arrest by US authorities, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador issued a call to arms to the drug cartels, urging them to refrain from engaging in intra-cartel violence. "Those involved in these illicit enterprises are well aware that confrontations lead nowhere. "If they are willing to put other people's lives in danger, why should they cause pain to their own families?" He spoke.
As USDEA chief Anne Milgram put it, "strikes at the heart of the cartel that is responsible for the majority of drugs, including fentanyl and methamphetamine, killing Americans from coast to coast" with Zambada's arrest.