A prominent member of a violent Mexican drug cartel is looking at spending the rest of his life behind bars following an indictment by a Chicago grand jury. The charges accuse him of producing and selling drugs such as fentanyl and heroin, as well as smuggling them into the United States.
The Department of Justice said 43-year-old Ceferino Espinoza Angulo has been charged with drug conspiracy and firearm offenses.
According to legal filings, Angulo reportedly enlisted numerous armed individuals in Mexico to safeguard and assist the prominent figures of the Sinaloa Cartel’s Joaquin Guzmán Loera, also known as “El Chapo,” faction.
Among the individuals protected by these armed guards were Ivan Guzmán Salazar, Jesus Alfredo Guzmán Salazar, Ovidio Guzmán López, and Joaquin Guzmán López, collectively referred to as “the Chapitos.”
Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, a historic leader of Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, left, and JoaquÃn Guzmán López, a son of another infamous cartel leader, after they were arrested by U.S. authorities in Texas, July 25, 2024. (U.S. Department of State via AP)
In 2023, federal prosecutors unsealed sprawling indictments against dozens of members of the cartel, including the brothers, in a fentanyl-trafficking investigation.
Zambada has claimed that Joaquin Guzmán López kidnapped him and flew him aboard a private plane into the U.S., where Joaquin Guzmán López surrendered to authorities.
The FBI alleges Zambada and Joaquin Guzmán López oversaw the trafficking of “tens of thousands of pounds of drugs into the United States, along with related violence.” Zambada is due in court in New York next week.
Ovidio Guzmán López is due in court Feb. 27. Joaquin Guzmán López’s next court date is March 19.
Fox News Digital’s Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.
