Spanish
Mexican drug trafficker Ovidio Guzmán, son of Joaquín 'el Chapo', pleaded guilty on Friday to four charges related to drug trafficking before a Chicago court, thus avoiding a trial.
Dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit and with shackles on his feet, Guzmán, 35 years old, appeared with a beard and glasses, an image that was not known of him, and adopted a humble air while listening through headphones to the questions of Judge Sharon Coleman.
You may be interested in: Extradition to the US of 'El Chapo' Guzmán's son, Ovidio Guzmán.
The four charges include trafficking multiple drugs (including fentanyl) and participating in organized crime; upon hearing them, Guzmán responded affirmatively. Coleman will set his sentence within six months, and Guzmán will predictably avoid life imprisonment by agreeing to collaborate with justice. However, the prosecutor pointed out that he will request a sentence less than life imprisonment as long as Guzmán "complies" with what he has committed to, that is - although he did not explicitly say so - gives enough information to the American justice system to continue pursuing drug trafficking. Guzmán took the floor to assure that he suffers from depression, diagnosed last October, and that he is therefore taking medication, and made it clear that no one had forced him to plead guilty. In its reading of considerations prior to the formulation of the specific charges, the prosecution highlighted that Guzmán was "the leader of a cartel" (of Sinaloa), who had participated in money laundering and who had been responsible for the kidnapping and death of three people, which was not denied by the accused, who listened attentively. The prosecution has also requested that Guzmán pay 80 million dollars in fines, but both the amount of the fine and the final prison sentence will be determined by Judge Coleman.
