Four children of Mexican drug trafficker Joaquín Guzmán Loera, better known as El Chapo, are among those indicted in the United States for illegally trafficking fentanyl, an opioid painkiller much more potent than morphine. The 28 people are believed to be close to the Sinaloa cartel, one of the richest and most violent criminal organizations in the world, and the four sons of El Chapo to be indicted are Ovidio Guzmán López (arrested in Mexico in early January), Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar, Iván Filing Guzmán Sálazar and Joaquín Guzmán Lopez (who has the same name as his father). The four – three of which are still at large – are also known as Los Chapitos.
Some of the 28 people indicted live in Mexico, one in Guatemala and still others in China, where most of the fentanyl then sold illegally in the United States is believed to come from; eight are already in prison. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the investigation concerned “the world‘s largest, most violent and prolific fentanyl trafficking operation.”