Sinaloa cartel leader and son indicted on U. S. drug charges
SAN DIEGO — A Sinaloa cartel leader and his son have been indicted on drug smuggling charges in the United States in what U. S. authorities called a blow to one of Mexico’s most powerful drug rings.
The indictment against Damaso Lopez Nunez was unsealed in Virginia as his 29- year- old son made his initial court appearance in San Diego. The son, Damaso Lopez Serrano, turned himself in to U. S. border inspectors in California less than two weeks ago.
Damaso Lopez Nunez has been battling for control of the Sinaloa cartel following last year’s arrest of billionaire kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who faces drug charges in the United States.
Known by the nickname “El Licenciado,” a title for college graduates, Lopez was long considered Guzman’s right- hand man and helped him escape from a Mexican prison in 2001. Mexican authorities arrested him in Mexico City in May, and U. S. authorities are seeking his extradition.
The younger Lopez, known as “Mini Lic,” surrendered to U. S. Customs and Border Protection officers July 27 in Calexico, east of San Diego, authorities said. He entered a plea of not guilty Monday at a hearing held under tight security andwas ordered to be held without bail. He is believed to be the highest- ranking Mexican cartel member ever to surrender to authorities in the United States.
David Shirk, an associate political science professor at University of San Diego, said it was highly unusual for a cartel operative to turn himself in to U. S. authorities and that it may be another sign that the Sinaloa cartel is “under siege.”