Ovidio Guzman Appears at a Hearing for Possible Extradition
https://www.telediario.mx/nacional/ovidio-guzman-audiencia-comparece-por-posible-extradicion
Translated excerpt:
Ovidio Guzmán López, ‘El Ratón’, and alleged leader of the Los Chapitos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, appears this Tuesday before a federal judge to be notified of the formal extradition request presented by the United States government to Mexico.
Judicial sources informed that the proceedings are being carried out via videoconference at the Federal Criminal Justice Center located in the municipality of Almoloya de Juárez, State of Mexico.
Once the hearing concludes, the legal term will begin to run so that the son of drug lord Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán can file an injunction to prevent his surrender before the formal extradition request.
It is worth mentioning that there is an arrest warrant against Ovidio Guzmán issued by a federal judge based in Sonora.
Ovidio Guzmán is currently being held in the Altiplano maximum security prison in the State of Mexico. He was captured on January 5 in the town of Jesús María, in Culiacán, Sinaloa, during an operation by the National Guard and the Army, where he was arrested in flagrante delicto, as firearms for the exclusive use of the Armed Forces were found on him.
The U.S. formally requests Ovidio’s extradition
The US government formally requested the extradition of Ovidio Guzmán López, son and heir to Joaquín El Chapo Guzmán’s criminal empire, on February 27.
The legal representative of the U.S. Embassy in Mexico was the one who delivered the complete information of the file against ‘El Ratón’ in the District Court of the District of Columbia for methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana trafficking.
The information was received by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Attorney General’s Office in order to begin the proceedings, however, it is likely to be a long process, as Guzmán López has several legal options to challenge and appeal against the process, after which he would face the US justice system, the same one that has his father, El Chapo, serving a life sentence in the Supermax prison in Florence, Colorado.
El Ratón faces prosecution alongside his brother Joaquin Guzman Lopez, El Guero, for having led a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel between 2008 and the present.
Who is Ovidio Guzmán?
Ovidio Guzman is the son of the second wife of Joaquin Guzman Loera ‘El Chapo’, Griselda Lopez. He is currently 32 years old and is identified as a member of the Sinaloa Cartel and leader of Los Chapitos.
He has three other siblings, but is known as an important member of the criminal organization, as he has been identified as one of the strategists in his father’s 2015 escape from El Altiplano prison.
CDG Gives Up Hitmen Who Were Behind the Attack on Americans in Matamoros
https://twitter.com/NOTICIAMORELOS1/status/1633850127113678851?s=20
https://twitter.com/GildoGarzaMx/status/1633846105623388160?s=20
Translated excerpt:
The Gulf Cartel (CDG) left five of their hitmen, who they say were behind the attack on the four Americans, bound at wrist with zip ties on a street in Matamoros.
The cartel group claimed they did not give the order for the abduction and offered up the hitmen to police.
.....A narco message sign was left alongside the hitmen with an explanation from the Gulf Cartel. The message read as follows, as translated by Sol Prendido:
The Gulf Cartel Grupo Escorpiones strongly condemns the events of Friday, March 3. In which unfortunately an innocent working mother died. And 4 American citizens were kidnapped, of which 2 died. For this reason we have decided to hand over those involved and directly responsible for the events who at all times acted under their own determination and indiscipline and against the rules in which the CDG has always operated.
We respect the life, tranquility and integrity of the innocent. The CDG apologizes to the society of Matamoros, the relatives of Mrs. Arely, the affected American individuals, and families. In addition the CDG asks society to remain calm because we are committed to ensure that these errors caused by indiscipline aren’t repeated. The guilty parties will pay, regardless of who they are.
CDG Grupo Escorpiones
Why Do This?
For those wondering why a cartel group would potentially give up their own men like this - it’s because the kidnapping “calento la plaza”, or heated up the region, meaning that kidnapping brought increased law enforcement attention to the area.
Anything which brings “heat” to an area where a cartel group operates is bad for business, as far as the cartel is concerned.
The last thing an organized crime group wants is an increase in media attention, particularly American media attention, that’s focused on the criminal activity of their territory.
Handing over these hitmen is an attempt by the Gulf Cartel to appease the American cries for justice, believing that once the perpetrators are arrested, the focus will shift to prosecuting the men for the kidnapping and ease off the larger criminal scene in Matamoros.
It’s important to remember, however, that the aggressive attack on the four Americans is the result of the environment of Matamoros - a city where Gulf Cartel leadership has thoroughly corrupted local law enforcement, paying out weekly bribes to municipal police officers.
The complicity of law enforcement with organized crime leadership is what emboldened the hitmen to act as they did on March 3rd.