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A son of the notorious drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán has been extradited to the US on drug trafficking charges, announced the US Attorney General. Ovidio Guzmán, along with his brother, is suspected of leading the powerful Sinaloa drug cartel that his father established. Ovidio is also accused of ordering the murder of a singer who had refused to perform at his wedding. He was arrested in January in the state of Sinaloa in Mexico and has been in custody since then. US Attorney General Merrick Garland stated that this extradition is part of the Justice Department's ongoing efforts to target all aspects of the cartel's operations. Mr. Garland expressed his gratitude to the Mexican government for its assistance in extraditing Ovidio to the US. There has been no immediate response from Mexican authorities regarding the extradition. This development comes shortly after Ovidio's father's wife, Emma Coronel, was released from US custody after being sentenced in November 2021 on drug trafficking charges. El Chapo is currently serving a life sentence in a maximum-security prison in Colorado for leading the Sinaloa cartel. Ovidio Guzmán is one of the four children Joaquín Guzmán had with Griselda López during the 1980s and 90s. Unfortunately, his oldest sibling, Edgar, was killed in a cartel shootout in 2008. El Chapo also has other children from his previous marriage and his relationship with Coronel. Ovidio, who is also known as "El Ratón" (The Mouse), was arrested outside the city of Culiacán following a six-month surveillance operation. The arrest led to a violent firefight in which 29 people died, and cartel members burned vehicles to block access roads and prevent law enforcement reinforcements from reaching the city. Due to concerns that Ovidio might be targeted by his own hitmen if transported by road, he was flown to Mexico City in a helicopter. In June 2020, Ovidio was briefly detained by security forces but was released under the order of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to avoid endangering the local population. This decision sparked violent clashes between Sinaloa gunmen and law enforcement, with buses being set on fire and gun battles breaking out. After being on the run for 18 months, Ovidio was re-arrested in January 2023. The Sinaloa cartel is a criminal organization that operates internationally. US law enforcement estimates that the cartel has smuggled over 1,000 tons of drugs, including cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamines, and heroin, into the US. In order to maintain its power, the cartel's members have engaged in kidnapping, torture, and murder of rival gang members. Additionally, they have bribed police officers and politicians throughout Mexico and Central America to ignore drug shipments or provide advance warnings about upcoming law enforcement actions.