El Chapo's family members cross US border in apparent deal with Trump administration

Mexican authorities reported Wednesday that family members of drug cartel leaders crossed into the United States last week as part of a deal between a son of the former head of the Sinaloa Cartel and the Trump administration Mexican Guard Secretary Omar Garc a Harfuch verified a review by independent journalist Luis Chaparro that family members of Ovidio Guzm n L pez had entered the U S Lopez the son of imprisoned Sinaloa Cartel boss Joaqu n El Chapo Guzm n was extradited to the U S in Among the family members allowed into the U S was Guzman's former wife Griselda L pez P rez CONSERVATIVE GROUP S ROADMAP SHOWS HOW TRUMP CAN USE MILITARY TO THWART CARTELS In a radio interview Garc a Harfuch commented it was clear to Mexican bureaucrats the deal was made during negotiations between Guzm n L pez and the U S regime It is evident that his family is going to the U S because of a negotiation or an offer that the Department of Justice is giving him Garc a Harfuch explained None of the family was being pursued by Mexican officers Video footage posted online Tuesday by Spanish-language outlet Radio Formula shows Guzm n's family carrying luggage as they wait to be processed at the Tijuana San Diego demarcation moving across They reportedly packed in cash with them SINALOA CARTEL TAKES ROOT IN AMERICAN NEIGHBORHOODS WHERE ARE THEY The confirmation by Garc a Harfuch came the same day the office of U S Attorney General Pam Bondi reported it was charging a number of top cartel leaders with narcoterrorism for the first time since the Trump administration declared a number of cartels as foreign terrorist organizations Let me be direct to the leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel you are no longer the hunters you are the hunted U S Attorney Adam Gordon for the Southern District of California revealed You will be betrayed by your friends you will be hounded by your enemies and you will ultimately find yourself and your face here in a courtroom in the Southern District of California Guzm n L pez also known as the Mouse is one of the four of Guzm n's sons known as Los Chapitos who ran the Sinaloa Cartel in their father's absence At his peak the elder Guzm n was one of the preponderance powerful drug traffickers in the world turning the Sinaloa Cartel into a major force and one of the largest groups responsible for illegal drugs pouring into the U S He was arrested and extradited to the U S in and convicted of drug trafficking and other crimes He is imprisoned in Colorado The Associated Press contributed to this record