Chapitos

Several sons of the now-jailed former Sinaloa Cartel leader Joaquín Guzmán Loera, alias “El Chapo,” have emerged among the most influential criminal groups in Mexico.

Joaquín Guzmán López, Ovidio Guzmán López, Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar, and Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar – known collectively as the Chapitos – have become increasingly influential in the synthetic drug trade and other criminal economies in north and western Mexico.

Ovidio and Joaquín Guzmán are now jailed in the United States and have agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.

What is the Chapitos’ Story?

Ovidio, Iván, Joaquín, and Jesús Alfredo were apparently brought into the Sinaloa Cartel’s criminal operations at a young age as teenagers by their father and another top Sinaloa Cartel figure, Ismael Zambada García, alias “El Mayo,” in order to learn the ins and outs of the organization. They began to assume a more prominent role in the mid- to late-2010s, around the time their father was arrested and extradited to the United States.

In 2015, US prosecutors indicted Jesús Alfredo alongside his father and a number of other cartel leaders on drug trafficking charges.

In 2016, Jesús Alfredo and Iván were among a group of men abducted by the Jalisco Cartel New Generation (Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación – CJNG) from a restaurant in an upscale district of the Mexican tourism center, Puerto Vallarta, in the state of Jalisco, the CJNG’s home turf. Both sons were later released.

After El Chapo’s extradition to the United States in January 2017, conflicts have intensified between the Chapitos and other Sinaloa Cartel leaders. The brothers have been at odds with the factions associated with El Mayo, as well as those associated with their uncle, Aureliano Guzmán Loera, alias “El Guano,” over control of the group’s operations and access to key trafficking routes.

In May 2020, José Rodrigo Aréchiga Gamboa, alias “El Chino Antrax” — once the head of the Sinaloa Cartel’s Antrax hit squad and an associate of El Mayo — was found dead after escaping federal probation supervision in San Diego. The Chapitos are believed to be behind the slaying.

In June 2020, a multi-hour shootout reportedly between the two sides outside Culiacán, the Sinaloa state capital, left 16 dead.

The Chapitos have also faced increasing pressure from authorities. 

In October 2019, Mexican security forces launched an operation to capture Ovidio in the Sinaloa state capital of Culiacán. Shortly after word of Ovidio’s detention spread, Sinaloa Cartel members responded in force, swarming the city and launching an all-out offensive to demand his release. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador ultimately “ordered that the operation be stopped and that the presumed criminal be set free.”

At the end of 2021, the US State Department upped its reward to $20 million for information that would help them in capturing the four sons. The US Treasury Department has also sanctioned the Chapitos under the so-called Kingpin Act.

Despite being in the crosshairs of US authorities, the Chapitos stepped up their efforts to exert dominance over the group their father once led. In February 2022, armed men – reportedly loyal to the Chapitos – riding in a convoy of dozens of vehicles laid siege on the municipality of Caborca near the US-Mexico border. For hours, the convoy occupied the city, as local police were unable to repel them until morning. In the end, the attack left two dead and at least five others kidnapped.

After their notoriety rose significantly through 2021 and 2022, the Chapitos suffered a blow in January 2023, when Ovidio was arrested in Culiacán, the state capital of Sinaloa. 

Following his arrest, much like in 2019, blockades were set up across the city and other parts of Sinaloa. Within hours, the federal government sent in reinforcements to calm the situation.

In September 2023, Ovidio was extradited to the United States after a fast-track process.

In July 2024, Joaquín was arrested in the United States after flying there on a private plane with El Mayo, who claimed Joaquín had kidnapped him. Two months later, an internal war between the Chapitos faction and the Mayiza erupted, which has had severe economic consequences and led to hundreds of killings and disappearances.

In May 2025, Ovidio agreed to cooperate with US prosecutors.

What Crimes are the Chapitos Involved in?

The Chapitos’ main business, much like their father before them, is international drug trafficking. According to various US indictments, the sons are involved in trafficking large quantities of everything from cocaine and marijuana to methamphetamine into the United States using their vast web of contacts throughout Latin America.

In particular, the group has adjusted to shifting drug markets and become ever more involved in the synthetic drug trade, especially with regards to trafficking the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl. The Chapitos have expanded their activities to include the exploitation of drug rehab centers to recruit new traffickers – yet another source of continued violence with El Mayo’s faction.

In addition, the group has also looked beyond the US market and started tapping into lucrative markets in Australia.

The Chapitos are among the main suppliers of fentanyl and methamphetamine into the United States. The US Justice Department issued charges against them for conspiracy to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana in 2021 and multimillion-dollar rewards have been offered for each of them. However, in 2023, criminal organizations in Sinaloa, including the Chapitos, reportedly imposed a complete ban on fentanyl production and trafficking, likely in response to judicial pressure on the group after Ovidio’s arrest. Several people were found dead near Culiacán, after having been tortured, and with fentanyl pills left on the bodies.

“Anyone who disobeys must be executed,” one criminal security chief affiliated with the Chapitos told InSight Crime, adding that over 50 people had been killed in 2023 for flouting the fentanyl ban.

In that context, many illicit fentanyl producers have migrated their operations to other municipalities around Sinaloa and even to other states along the US-Mexico border. However, during the ongoing war, these rules have become more lax.

In addition to drug trafficking, the Chapitos have expanded their influence in legal economic activities, such as agriculture, fishing and mining. In these sectors, they establish prices, impose informal taxes, and regulate services like the distribution of water. In Culiacán, they have also developed sophisticated money laundering schemes.

Where do the Chapitos Operate?

The primary stronghold for the Chapitos is their birthplace of Sinaloa, a state in northwest Mexico along the country’s Pacific coast. 

El Chapo’s sons seem to have much more sway and strength within Sinaloa’s capital Culiacán and other urban centers. On the other hand, El Mayo’s faction is believed to maintain a stronghold in rural areas surrounding the capital city.

As a whole, the Sinaloa Cartel has suppliers, clients, and allies across North and South America, as well as several countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania. The group has also had various degrees of presence or influence in at least 17 Mexican states.

Who are the Chapitos’ Allies and Enemies?

The Chapitos primary rival within the Sinaloa Cartel is the faction associated with El Mayo, known collectively as the Mayiza, with whom they have been engaged in a blood battle since September 2024. However, the armed wings of both of these cells have fought each other along the US-Mexico border since at least 2020.. There have also reported been family frictions with their uncle, El Guano..

The CJNG was a top enemy of the Chapitos as they and the Sinaloa Cartel battle for control over Mexico’s vast criminal economies. However, the Chapitos established an alliance with the CJNG to secure weapons and operational support against the rival Mayiza.

In addition, the Chapitos have battled the Beltrán Leyva Organization, the Sinaloa Cartel’s one-time ally before a 2008 split kicked off a bloody battle between the two groups. In 2016, more than 100 Beltrán Leyva members were reportedly responsible for looting El Chapo’s mother’s home in the mountains of Sinaloa, forcing her and hundreds of others from nearby communities to flee the area.To help in their ongoing turf wars, the Chapitos have recruited allies across several states. This list includes former rivals such as Pablo Edwin Huerta Nuno, alias “El Flaquito,” formerly of the Arellano Felix Cartel in Baja California.

What is the Chapitos’ Outlook?

With Ovidio and Joaquín in US custody and the ongoing war with the Mayiza, the future of the Chapitos appears uncertain. Mexican authorities have arrested dozens of key operators and low-level associates of the Chapitos, while many more have been killed with clases with the Mayiza and security forces.

Meanwhile, Ovidio appears to be negotiating with US prosecutors. In May 2025, several of his family members fled to the United States and voluntarily handed themselves over to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), according to Mexico’s top security official.