Adela Navarro

Ovid will not be released from prison

Their fate is to remain, for a period of time determined by a court, either in the United States or Mexico, behind bars.

By Adela Navarro.

Column originally published in Semanario Zeta.

"El Raton," the former elusive and identified drug trafficker Ovidio Guzman Lopez, will remain in prison. His fate is to remain, for a period of time determined by a court, either in the United States or Mexico, behind bars.

Deprived of his freedom since January 5, 2023, when he was apprehended by the Armed Forces in Sinaloa in an operation that claimed the lives - according to unverified official versions - of 10 members of the military and 19 civilians who were supposedly members of the criminal cell of the junior drug trafficker in the Sinaloa Cartel, Ovidio was notified a few days ago of the formal extradition request against him.

At the same time, two events occurred that were notorious at the national level. The declaration of the arrested man himself, arguing in the notification that he is not the person referred to by the U.S. authorities in the extradition process, and the granting of a definitive suspension by a judge in one of the two amparos that Guzmán López currently has in force.

In the first case, Ovidio says he is not the person the U.S. authorities are looking for, that he is not the one being accused of trafficking methamphetamines, cocaine and marijuana from Mexico to the United States. This is nothing new, even though there are drug traffickers who declare themselves confessed at the time of their arrest; others, like Ovidio's father, Joaquin Guzman Loera, claim to be engaged in other legitimate work. In 1993, when "El Chapo" was arrested, he publicly declared that he was a farmer.

That is to say, it is not questioned that Ovidio is Ovidio, but rather that the young son of the drug trafficker claims not to be the wanted person, not to be the trafficker.

This and other facts will be presented in the extradition proceeding that, at the request of the American Union, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) is carrying out, which must present, among other things, expert evidence that the person referred to in the extradition order is indeed the one who was apprehended and is deprived of his liberty. Not only physically matching the description of Ovidio Guzmán, his complexion, particular signs, blood ties with his father, but also providing evidence confirming his official identity, his social status, his location in the Mexican criminal networks, in the Sinaloa Cartel.

The extradition process can take one or more years, and even if it is resolved in favor, as has happened with other criminals in the past, such as Joaquín Guzmán, Benjamín Arellano, Osiel Cárdenas, among others, Ovidio Guzmán may, at that time, file one or more amparos to try to stay in Mexico and not be taken to the United States to be presented to the authorities of that country, the same authorities that sentenced his father to life imprisonment.

The extradition, then, is going to take a long time. Especially when it is known the not very efficient work of the SRE and the Attorney General's Office (FGR), to which will be added the legal strategies initiated by Guzmán Loera's lawyers to keep him in the country. And it is important that, during this process, he will remain behind bars, deprived of his freedom, which leads to the other issue: this week it was announced that a judge granted a definitive suspension in an amparo of Ovidio Guzmán López. With the mere disclosure of the information, many assumed that, due to the protection of justice, the young criminal will regain his freedom. This is not the case.

Currently, "El Ratón" Guzmán has two amparos in effect. Others have been dismissed when the object of the amparo is not found, and now that Guzmán has been formally notified of the extradition process, his legal status has changed, so it is presumable that one of the two amparos will be dismissed and new ones will be filed.

When the judge granted the definitive suspension in one of the amparos, this did not mean that he granted the amparo, but rather that he ordered that things remain in the current situation until the amparo is resolved. Freedom is not decreed. In fact, it is not known in what terms this definitive suspension was granted (at the same time that, by the way, another one was denied).

Ovidio Guzmán has two amparos in effect, both of which were filed before he was notified of the formal extradition request. In other words, the procedure to determine whether or not he will be extradited has just begun. In the following days his lawyers could file other appeals with his new legal situation.

The amparos in effect, both in the State of Mexico, in the Third and Fifth Courts, have not been resolved on the merits. Suspensions have been granted and denied, the process will continue and, again it is important to note, "El Ratón" will remain in prison.

In addition to the extradition warrant that essentially keeps him in prison, the Attorney General's Office announced that a warrant for the arrest of Ovidio Guzmán López was issued in Sonora. Even though it is known that these are crimes against health and the facts are unknown because opacity persecutes the Mexican authorities, it is understood that this new warrant will contribute to keep the son of "El Chapo" Guzmán behind bars, until his extradition is resolved and he is sent to be tried in the United States.