Mexican capo Ovidio Guzman extradited to US in win on fentanyl war

MEXICO CITY, Sept 15 (Reuters) – Ovidio Guzman, a son of imprisoned Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, was extradited to the US on Friday to face fentanyl trafficking costs, in a lift for the Biden administration’s push to curb the unfold of the lethal opioid.

U.S. Legal professional Normal Merrick Garland stated Ovidio Guzman’s extradition was the most recent step in American efforts to assault “each side” of the drug trafficking operations run by the Sinaloa Cartel lengthy related to the Guzman household.

“I’m additionally grateful to our Mexican authorities counterparts for this extradition,” Garland stated in a press release.

“The Justice Division will proceed to carry accountable these chargeable for fueling the opioid epidemic that has devastated too many communities throughout the nation.”

Two Mexican officers acquainted with the matter additionally confirmed the extradition of the 33-year-old Guzman.

One of many heirs to his father’s trafficking empire, Guzman was briefly arrested within the northern metropolis of Culiacan in 2019 however launched on the orders of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to keep away from bloodshed when his cartel struck again.

He was captured in January after an intense firefight within the northern Mexican state of Sinaloa.

U.S. officers have portrayed Guzman and quite a lot of his brothers because the face of the risk posed by fentanyl, a extremely addictive poison that kills practically 200 People each day. That loss of life toll has piled strain on the Biden administration and prompted diplomatic strains between the U.S. and Mexico.

The U.S. authorities requested Guzman’s extradition in February so he might face medication costs in a U.S. courtroom.

Extradition proceedings of distinguished Mexican drug traffickers can take years. The removing of Ovidio Guzman was even faster than that of his father, who was flown to the U.S. barely a yr after his closing arrest in Sinaloa in early 2016.

A number of Mexican media, together with information community Milenio, earlier reported that Guzman had been taken out of a most safety jail in central Mexico to be flown throughout the border.

In line with U.S. courtroom paperwork, Guzman and his brothers allegedly managed in depth worldwide operations within the fentanyl commerce, reaping a whole lot of thousands and thousands of {dollars} in income by “flooding” the US with the drug.

Their wager on the artificial opioid 50 instances extra highly effective than heroin helped intensify an opioid epidemic that put them within the sights of U.S. anti-narcotics brokers.

The State Division has been providing a reward price thousands and thousands of {dollars} for info resulting in the arrest or conviction or Ovidio Guzman and three of his brothers.

His father, “El Chapo” Guzman, rose to prominence on the helm of the Sinaloa Cartel. He was extradited to the US in 2017 after twice escaping from jail in Mexico. The elder Guzman is now at a high-security “Supermax” lock-up in Colorado.

Our Requirements: The Thomson Reuters Belief Ideas.