Mexico asks US to clarify if Ovidio Guzmán’s mother and 16 relatives crossed the border

Mexico’s President, Claudia Sheinbaum, confirmed on Monday that the Mexican government has no information from the United States government regarding the alleged crossing of at least 17 relatives of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán into U.S. territory on May 9 through the San Ysidro border crossing between Tijuana and San Diego.

“There is nothing more than what has come out in the news [...]. The Attorney General’s Office is already requesting that information,” said the president, after recalling the extradition of Ovidio Guzmán in 2023 and the obligation of the U.S. Department of Justice to share information in coordination with Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office on cases such as that of El Chapo’s son, who just a few days ago confirmed, through his lawyers, that he reached an agreement to change his guilty plea in negotiations with U.S. authorities.

Exclusive information from journalist Luis Chaparro, published on his site Pie de Nota, revealed that at least 17 of El Chapo’s relatives crossed on foot, carrying luggage, through the San Ysidro port of entry between Tijuana and San Diego on Friday, May 9. The newspaper El Universal, citing the same source and with confirmation from the U.S. Marshals Service, echoed the case and reported that the agency did not provide details on the reasons why family members of Los Chapitos — the faction of the Sinaloa Cartel controlled by El Chapo’s children — crossed into the United States.

Among the group of alleged border crossers is Griselda López Pérez, who became El Chapo’s second wife in the 1980s and had four children with him, including Ovidio “El Ratón“ Guzmán, and Joaquín ”El Güero Moreno" Guzmán López. Both are currently in U.S. custody, with the latter allegedly responsible for the arrest of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada on July 25, 2024, in New Mexico — an event that marked the beginning of an open war between Los Chapitos and Los Mayos (two factions within the Sinaloa Cartel), which continues to cast a shadow of violence over that state.

This alleged negotiated surrender with FBI agents follows the confirmation on May 6 that Ovidio Guzmán will now plead guilty to drug trafficking in an upcoming hearing — scheduled for June 6 — as part of a cooperation agreement with U.S. authorities.

This information — along with several photographs of the group and a video of the moment just before they entered U.S. territory — was shared by journalist Luis Chaparro on his YouTube channel on Monday morning. In the video, the presenter also explains that there was at least one sniper overseeing the family’s crossing, which had traveled from Culiacán, the capital of Sinaloa, to Tijuana. The alleged surrender was meant to facilitate their transfer to the United States, where they were reportedly granted permanent residency by the authorities.

The future of the Guzmán family

The news that Ovidio Guzmán had reached a plea agreement with prosecutors to plead guilty to drug trafficking quashed rumors surrounding the youngest of the Guzmán brothers — at least those wanted by U.S. authorities: Ovidio himself, Joaquín, Jesús Alfredo, and Iván Archivaldo — and raised questions about the future of the family. Ovidio faces a dozen charges in total: five in Chicago, six in New York, and one in the District of Columbia, mostly related to trafficking fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine.

Additionally, on the same Monday, The Wall Street Journal, citing a Mexican security source, reported that Iván Archivaldo Guzmán, El Chapo’s eldest son, escaped authorities in February during a raid in Culiacán. The escape was reportedly made possible by a hidden tunnel in the bathroom of the house where he was staying — reminiscent of his father’s escape tactics.

Iván Archivaldo is considered one of the main exporters of fentanyl and other drugs to the United States, according to U.S. authorities. Among the four Guzmán brothers allegedly involved in drug trafficking, he is one of only two — alongside Jesús Alfredo — who are still at large and wanted by the United States.

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