Jaziel Guzman, the cousin of Ovidio Guzman Lopez, son of "El Chapo" Guzman, reportedly helped coordinate an operation that involved taking 17 family members to the U.S. as part of a plea deal with authorities.
According to media outlet Illicit Investigations, Jaziel helped with the transport of the mentioned family members, who were taken to the border in several vans. They then crossed into the U.S. through the San Ysidro port of entry.
Infobae Mexico detailed that Jaziel was born in the U.S. and worked as an investor before becoming an operator for Ovidio Guzman. Illicit Investigations also published what it claimed to be a letter from "El Raton," which instructed family members to organize a reunion with him through "cousin Jaziel." "Thank him from me for everything he's done," reads a passage of the letter.
Ovidio Guzman is expected to plead guilty to drug trafficking charges at a hearing on Friday, becoming the first of "El Chapo's" sons to enter such an agreement.
Considered a key leader of the Los Chapitos faction following his father's 2016 arrest, Guzmán López allegedly oversaw the cartel's fentanyl production and trafficking operations until his capture in Culiacán, Sinaloa, in January 2023. He was extradited to the United States in September of that year.
Prosecutors in New York charged him with six federal crimes, including conspiracy to import fentanyl, engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, trafficking fentanyl, possession and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices, as well as money laundering.
Since his extradition, Guzmán López's legal team has reportedly worked with U.S. prosecutors to negotiate a deal that could reduce his sentence and offer protection to the mentioned family members in exchange for intelligence on rival cartels — including the La Mayiza faction, which has been involved in turf wars with Los Chapitos since September 2024.
For months, legal experts have speculated that Guzmán and his brother Joaquín, also known as "El Güero," were cooperating under Section 5K1.1 of the U.S. Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which allows for sentence reductions if a defendant provides "substantial assistance" to the government. Benefits can include reduced prison time, relocation under witness protection, and more lenient prison conditions.
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