Ovidio Guzmán denies he is El Chapo’s son in court appearance

Ovidio Guzmán appears in court to face extradition order.

He denies he is El Chapo’s son.

Guzmán says they have arrested the wrong person.

DO THEY HAVE THE WRONG MAN? Ovidio Guzmán López, better known as El Ratón, appeared before a judge through a videoconference at the Federal Criminal Justice Center. Joaquín Guzmán Loera’s son is facing an extradition order.

El Ratón was arrested on January 5, when the Mexican authorities reported that they had found El Chapo’s son in a major raid. After he was detained in a maximum security prison in Mexico, the US requested his extradition.

OVIDIO GUZMÁN SAYS HE’S NOT EL CHAPO’S SON

Photo: Twitter

Ovidio Guzmán López appeared before a judge by means of a videoconference from the Federal Criminal Justice Center. Local media reports indicated that Guzmán was officially notified of an extradition request from the United States.

El Ratón and his defense say that he is not the man the US is looking for. They are preparing an amparo to keep him in Mexico. According to El Heraldo, the hearing began around noon and ended at 4:00 p.m.

He’s not El Chapo’s son?

Photo: Twitter

According to El Proceso, Ovidio Guzmán testified to the authorities that had been a mix-up and he is not Joaquín Guzmán Loera’s son. This surprised the Attorney General of the Republic (FGR).

The man identified as Ovidio Guzmán formally introduced himself as Rogelio Díaz Villarreal and declared that he does not go by any other name. He asked not to be extradited to the United States.

Do they have the wrong person?

Photo: Twitter

In the hearing, which lasted around four hours, Ovidio Guzmán was notified of the crimes the United States wants to prosecute him for. In a surprising twist, he said that he is «not the person the US is looking for.»

«I am not the person who the United States claims,» Ovidio Guzmán told the court, according to El Heraldo. He also said that his possible extradition would not «adjust to the bilateral treaty» that exists between the two countries.

What’s next for Ovidio?

Photo: Twitter

At the time of the hearing, they revealed that the United States added two new charges, for a total of 11 charges of drug trafficking and money laundering, according to El Proceso. For the moment, Ovidio Guzmán’s defense continues to work to prevent his extradition.

They indicated that the request was sent to the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) days before the March 5 deadline set by a Mexican judge for the United States to present the request to extradite Guzmán, who has been detained since January 5 in the Almoloya prison.

Are authorities still gathering evidence?

Photo: Twitter

The request, which contains the file with the information and evidence collected by the Department of Justice, will be turned over to Judge Gregorio Salazar Hernández, of the Criminal Justice Center of Almoloya. The United States petition will face injunctions that Guzmán’s son has obtained to indefinitely stop his extradition, EFE indicated.

On the other hand, the term of 60 days of pretrial detention ordered by a Mexican judge on January 6 is approaching. The Mexican Army detained Ovidio Guzmán on January 5 in the northern state of Sinaloa and later transferred him to the Cefereso number 1 Altiplano.