One of the sons of infamous Mexican drug lord 'El Chapo' has admitted to drug trafficking charges. Joaquín Guzmán López, 39, confessed on Monday to US drug trafficking charges, as reported by Associated Press.

This confession comes just months after his brother also entered a plea deal. Both Joaquín Guzmán López and his brother Ovidio Guzmán López, known in Mexico as the 'little Chapos', are accused of running a section of the notorious Sinaloa cartel.

In 2023, federal authorities labelled their operation as a massive effort to smuggle "staggering" quantities of fentanyl into the US.

Joaquín pleaded guilty to two counts of drug trafficking and continuing criminal enterprise after admitting his role in overseeing the transport of tens of thousands of kilograms of drugs to the US, mostly through underground tunnels. His lawyer stated that he is expected to avoid life imprisonment with this plea deal.

There was a significant security presence at Chicago's federal court ahead of the hearing where prosecutors detailed events leading up to Guzmán López's dramatic arrest alongside another longtime Sinaloa leader on US soil in July 2024, reports The Mirror.

Dressed in an orange jumpsuit, Guzmán López remained largely silent in court on Monday. However, when asked at the beginning of the hearing what his occupation was, he responded to District Judge Sharon Coleman, "drug trafficking".

"Oh that's your job," Coleman said with a chuckle. "There you go."

Prosecutors revealed that if Guzmán López assists the US government, his life sentence would be cut, though he will still face a minimum of 10 years behind bars, according to Andrew Erskine, a barrister representing the federal government.

Guzmán López will not be able to challenge the sentence as part of the plea agreement.

His defence solicitor, Jeffrey Lichtman, said: "The government has been very fair with Joaquín thus far. I do appreciate the fact that the Mexican government didn't interfere."

Guzmán López was captured in July 2024 in Texas alongside another veteran Sinaloa boss, Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada after they touched down in the US on a private aircraft.

Both men have previously entered not guilty pleas to various drug trafficking, money laundering and firearms charges.

Their dramatic capture sparked a wave of bloodshed in Mexico's northern state of Sinaloa as two wings of the Sinaloa cartel battled each other.

Under the plea agreement, Joaquín Guzmán López confessed to helping supervise the manufacturing and trafficking of vast amounts of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, cannabis and fentanyl into the United States, feeding a crisis that has led to tens of thousands of overdose fatalities each year.

In the deal Guzmán López also confessed to abducting an unnamed person alleged to be Zambada.

Erskine outlined the alleged kidnapping in court, explaining Guzmán López had the glass from a floor-to-ceiling window taken out. Guzmán López allegedly orchestrated others to enter through an open window during a meeting in the room with the unnamed individual, where they were captured with a bag placed over his head before being bundled onto a plane.

Once aboard, he was restrained with zip ties and administered sedatives before the aircraft touched down at a New Mexico airport close to the Texas border, according to AP reports.

Erskine contended that the alleged abduction was an effort to demonstrate cooperation with the US government, which had not authorised such actions.

He stated Guzmán López would not receive cooperation credit due to this.

Zambada's legal representative has previously maintained that his client was "forcibly kidnapped" by Guzmán López onto the flight to the US, with Lichtman indicating he would attempt to secure a reduced sentence.

Sniffer dogs were positioned in the lobby of the downtown courthouse, checking bags and equipment.

In July, Joaquin's brother Ovidio Guzmán López became the first son of the drug baron to enter a plea agreement.

He admitted guilt to drug trafficking, money laundering and firearms charges linked to his leadership position within the cartel.

This plea agreement was viewed as a major breakthrough for the US government in their investigation and prosecution of Sinaloa cartel leaders, according to legal experts. Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán is currently serving a life sentence after being found guilty in 2019 for his role as the former head of the Sinaloa cartel, having been accountable for smuggling vast quantities of cocaine and other drugs into the United States over a span of 25 years.

It's alleged that the brothers have now stepped into their father's shoes as leaders of the cartel.