Sons of drug lord “El Chapo” are among the members of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel charged in the United States with operating a massive fentanyl distribution network.
According to reports, the operation was fueled by Chinese chemical corporations.
Each year, Fentanyl is responsible for the fatalities of tens of thousands of Americans, primarily young adults.
Former Sinaloa cartel leader Joaqun “El Chapo” Guzmán is serving a life sentence in the United States.
His three accused sons, Ovidio Guzmán López, Jess Alfredo Guzmán Salazar, and Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Sálazar, are known as the Chapitos, or little Chapos, and are believed to be the cartel’s most violent faction.
“They are aware that they poison and murder Americans. Anne Milgram, head of the US Drug Enforcement Administration, said of Guzman’s sons, “They simply don’t care because they make billions of dollars doing it.”
“Their insatiable greed is shocking and without bounds.”
In three separate indictments, federal prosecutors charged 28 defendants from Mexico, China, and Guatemala, eight of whom are currently in custody.
Attorney General Merrick Garland referred to it as “the world’s largest, most violent, and most productive fentanyl trafficking operation.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the United States, fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine.
Ovidio Guzman Lopez, one of El Chapo’s sons known as “The Mouse” who was arrested in Mexico earlier this year, is the only sibling currently detained and pending extradition.
At least 29 individuals were slain during the January operation to arrest him. Infuriated gang members erected roadblocks, set dozens of vehicles on fire, and attacked local airport aircraft.
In a Manhattan federal court, he was charged with six counts, including conspiracy to import and distribute fentanyl. He faces life imprisonment.
In addition, four Chinese business proprietors are accused of supplying the cartel with chemicals.
The US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on two Chinese chemical companies.
Mr. Garland stated that the Chinese government “must halt the unchecked flow of fentanyl precursor chemicals from China.”
According to the CDC, a record number of nearly 107,000 Americans perished in drug overdoses in the United States in 2021.
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