Attorney General Garland announces that Mexico has extradited the son of ‘El Chapo’ to the United States.

MEXICO CITY — Mexico extradited Ovidio Guzmán López, a son of former Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán, to the United States on Friday to face drug trafficking charges, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.

Garland stated that this move is the latest measure taken by the Justice Department to target all aspects of the cartel’s activities.

Requests for comment were made, but the Mexican government has not yet provided a response.

In January, the Mexican security forces apprehended Guzmán López, also known as “the Mouse,” in Culiacan, the capital of Sinaloa state, which is named after the cartel.

The government had made an attempt to apprehend him three years ago, but they canceled the mission when his cartel associates initiated a surge of violence in Culiacan.

The arrest in January triggered comparable violence, resulting in the deaths of 30 individuals in Culiacan, including 10 members of the military.

The military employed Black Hawk helicopters to counter the cartel’s truck-mounted .50-caliber machine guns. The cartel’s gunmen successfully struck two military aircraft, causing them to make emergency landings. Additionally, they dispatched gunmen to the city’s airport, where both military and civilian aircraft were targeted with gunfire.

The capture came just days before U.S. President Joe Biden visited Mexico for bilateral talks followed by the North American Leaders’ Summit.

In April, the “Chapitos” (Guzmán and his brothers) were charged by U.S. prosecutors. The indictments revealed that after their father’s extradition and subsequent life sentence in the U.S., the brothers took control of the cartel and focused more on producing synthetic drugs such as methamphetamine and the potent synthetic opioid fentanyl.

The recently revealed indictment in Manhattan stated that their objective was to manufacture large amounts of fentanyl and distribute it at the most affordable cost. Prosecutors mentioned that fentanyl is produced so inexpensively that the cartel earns substantial profits, even when selling the drug at a price as low as 50 cents per pill.

The Chapitos gained notoriety for their extremely violent actions, which seemed to exceed the limits of self-control displayed by previous cartel leaders.

Fentanyl is now a major concern in the security partnership between the two countries. However, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has refuted claims made by both the U.S. government and his own military regarding fentanyl production in Mexico. Instead, he characterizes Mexico as a transit location for precursors originating from China and destined for the U.S.

López Obrador attributes the high levels of drug addiction in the U.S. to a decline in family values.