Joaquin Guzman Lopez Pleads Not Guilty to Drug Trafficking Charges in US Court

Joaquin Guzman Lopez, the son of notorious Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, has entered a plea of not guilty to charges of drug trafficking and weapons possession in a US court. The indictment against Guzman Lopez, consisting of five counts, was presented by federal prosecutors during a hearing in a Chicago courtroom. US District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman ordered him to be detained until trial, with the next court date scheduled for September 30.

Guzman Lopez’s arrest, which took place in the El Paso, Texas area last week, was part of a joint operation by US authorities. The circumstances surrounding the arrest remain unclear, with conflicting accounts from US officials and Zambada’s lawyer, Frank Perez. While US officials claim that Guzman Lopez deceived Zambada into boarding a plane to Mexico, only to bring him to the US against his will, Perez argues that Zambada was forcibly kidnapped. Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, a long-time member of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, also pleaded not guilty to drug charges in El Paso federal court.

The arrest of Guzman Lopez and Zambada has sparked an investigation by Mexican authorities into the events leading up to their capture. The operation has raised questions about the tactics employed by US authorities and prompted Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to publicly appeal to drug cartels to avoid violence. The Sinaloa cartel, which has been plagued by internal conflicts between Zambada’s followers and El Chapo’s sons, known as Los Chapitos, has not shown an immediate increase in violence following the arrests.