At least three of the nine children attributed to Joaquín Guzmán Loera, better known as "El Chapo", have been targeted by are in the sights of the U.S. government.
The names of Iván Archivaldo and Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar, born in 1983 and 1986, respectively, as well as Ovidio Guzmán López (1990), appear in several judicial and Treasury records for activities related to drug trafficking and money laundering.
According to a document of the U.S.District Court for the Southern District of California dated September 2013 "defendant Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar, aka Luis or Chapito, caused multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine and ton quantities of marijuana to be transported from Mexico to the United States border, and then into and throughout the United States for distribution."
Based on information from various U.S. agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the document adds that Iván "further caused drug proceeds to be collected from customers in the United States and laundered and transferred from the United States to Mexico and elsewhere for the benefit of the Sinaloa Cartel's members and associates,"
Moreover, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Treasury Department designated them in May and June 2012, but the pressure on them increased since their father was arrested and jailed in February 2014.
The eldest sons of Guzmán, Iván Archivaldo and Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar, have attracted more attention in the United States. Their mother is María Alejandrina Salazar Hernández, the first wife of "El Chapo", who was also designated by OFAC in June 2012.
On January 16, 2015, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California filed charges against 60 members of the Sinaloa Cartel, including Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar, then 31.
According to the main indictment, "the alleged leaders of the cartel imported large quantities of cocaine, methamphetamine and other drugs, as well as the chemicals to manufacture methamphetamine, into Mexico from Asia and Central and South American countries including Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru, Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras and Guatemala. The traffickers used various methods to move the drugs, including cargo aircraft, private aircraft, submarines and other submersible and semi-submersible vessels, container ships, supply vessels, go-fast boats, fishing vessels, buses, rail cars, tractor trailers, trucks, automobiles, and private and commercial interstate and foreign carriers."
In 2005 Archivaldo was arrested and imprisoned at the Federal Social Rehabilitation Center Number 1, La Palma, for money laundering. However, he was released in 2008 due to insufficient evidence.
On January 27, 2015, the U.S. Treasury Department designated two operators of the Sinaloa Cartel under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act: Víctor Manuel Félix Beltrán and Alfonso Limón Sánchez.
"Víctor Manuel Félix Beltrán is a high-ranking Sinaloa Cartel trafficker, who operates from Culiacán and Guadalajara and is the son of prominent Mexican drug trafficker, Victor Félix Félix, who transported cocaine and laundered money on behalf of incarcerated Sinaloa Cartel leader, Joaquín Guzmán Loera. Félix Beltrán also serves as a lieutenant for Guzmán Loera's sons, Jesús Alfredo and Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar, both of whom were previously designated by OFAC."
In 2009 the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois accused Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar of drug trafficking.
Even though Ovidio Guzmán López, the youngest of the three brothers identified by the U.S. government, was mentioned on August 5, 2012 as part of the criminal organization led by his father, in the last two years he has managed to keep a lower profile than his brothers Iván Archivaldo and Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar.
López Guzmán's mother, Griselda López Pérez, was also designated by OFAC as part of the financing system of the criminal organization led by "El Chapo" Guzmán.
