The children of “Chapo” Guzmán are one of the factions of the Sinaloa Cartel most investigated by US authorities
In a new attempt to weaken the criminal structure of Los Chapitos, the United States Department of the Treasury announced sanctions against nine of its members and a Colombian collaborator.
A head of hitmen, financial operators dedicated to asset laundering, drug distributors and specialists in chemical processes are some of the profiles contemplated by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
From the list, the brothers Martín and Leobardo García Corrales stand out, whom the US government identifies as highly relevant characters due to their closeness to Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán and Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada.
Among the aspects the García Corrales brothers are a priority target for the US is their position as large-scale producers of fentanyl and methamphetamine in Sinaloa. In addition, according to investigations, they would also be responsible for bringing fentanyl production to the state of Oaxaca.
An indictment issued by the Court of the Southern District of New York on April 14, 2023, to which Infobae México had access, establishes that in a meeting held on September 19, 2022 in a restaurant in Mexico City, Leobardo García Corrales, alias “Leo,” 53, warned that he would take his fentanyl laboratories to Oaxaca.
These facilities, the Sinaloa Cartel collaborator assured, would be capable of producing close to a ton of fentanyl from the chemical precursors received from China.
Furthermore, he boasted that one of the largest laboratories ever seized in Guatemala belonged to him and his “good friend,” “El Chapo.”
On the other hand, Martín García Corrales, alias “Tano”, would be mostly involved in activities such as arms trafficking.
The US investigations indicate that on November 14, 2022, “Tano” met with Humberto Beltrán Cuen, alias “Don Chino”, in a restaurant in Mazatlán, where they agreed that García Corrales would buy him hundreds of automatic rifles, 50 and grenades in exchange for fentanyl.
The arsenal requested by “Tano” included 500 AR-15 rifles (half of them equipped with grenade launchers), 20 rocket-propelled grenades, 500 bulletproof vests and 500 handguns.
As a partial payment, in February 2023 subordinates of Martín García Corrales delivered a total of 33 kilograms of fentanyl to different addresses in Los Angeles, California. The narcotic used in the negotiation came from the laboratories of his brother Leobardo.
For information that leads to the capture of each of the García Corrales brothers, the State Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) offer a reward of up to four million dollars.
The charges against them are conspiracy to import fentanyl into the United States and possession of firearms and destructive devices. For these crimes, the justice system of that country could punish them with a minimum sentence of 40 years in prison, or with life imprisonment.
Source: Infobae
