A report of InSightCrime reveals that the Guzmán brothers managed to form a criminal cell for the sale and distribution of drugs in Mexico and the United States. They are among the largest traffickers of fentanyl and methamphetamine.
In 2008, the United States justice charged Ovidio and Joaquín with the crimes of conspiracy to traffic cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine.
Ovidio Guzmán was the most mediatic “chapito”, however, security experts affirm that the true leader of the organization is his brother, Iván Archivaldo Guzmán.
“Ovidio Guzmán is an important leader of the criminal group “Los Menores”, associated with the Pacific Cartel, but the leader of that organization is his brother, Archivaldo,” explains José Andrés Sumano Rodríguez, technical secretary of the CONACYT Thematic Research Network in Addictions and Citizen Security.
“El ratón” was arrested on January 5, 2023 in Culiacán, Sinaloa and transferred to the El Altiplano prison, in the State of Mexico, from which his father fled in 2015. Since his arrest, his legal team has sought to stop his deportation to the United States.
Until now He has managed to stop being sent to US territory to face justice. On January 25, the Fifth District Judge in Matters of Amparo and Federal Trials, in the State of Mexico, Alfonso Alexander López Moreno, granted him a suspension so that he could not be extradited.
“The definitive suspension is granted so that the direct complainant Ovidio Guzmán López is not extradited and remains at the disposal of this court of protection, in what corresponds to his personal freedom, in the place where he is being held and at the disposal of of the responsible judge”, determined the judge.
The future of Ovidio Guzmán is not only in the hands of the United States government but also of the Attorney General’s Office. According to the Secretary of the Interior, Adán Augusto López, in Mexico “El Ratón” has some pending crimes for which he is claimed by Mexican justice : crimes against health, for carrying firearms, organized crime and attempted homicide.
An arrest has no impact on fentanyl trafficking
For the United States government, the capture of criminal leaders to confront violence and drug trafficking continues to be a priority. The Joe Biden administration offered a $5 million reward to anyone who provided information leading to the arrest of key targets in the fentanyl trade: Joaquín Guzmán López, Iván Archivaldo Salazar and Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar.
However, the decapitation of organizations does not have the desired impact, since its place is soon taken by another member of the structures.
“The United States believes that the dismantling of networks, the capture of drug lords, decreases traffic, but this is not the case… in order to stop fentanyl exports, we would have to dismantle the structures and not only capture the drug trafficking bosses,” explains the specialist. in public safety, David Saucedo.
Although “El Ratón” had a role in the “Los Menores” organization, his arrest does not have a transcendental impact on the group’s operation and less on the fentanyl trafficking market.
“It was a very publicized capture, however, the criminal environment changes very little… It is a criminal structure in which, in its absence, there is someone else to carry out these tasks. The business will continue as long as the demand for fentanyl continues and it continues to be so profitable”, adds Sumano Rodríguez.
