The Last Chapitos Standing: Iván Archivaldo and Jesús Alfredo Guzmán

The United States is this week upping the multimillion-dollar rewards it has on the heads of the remaining leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel’s Chapitos faction, just as prosecutors are targeting the Mexican politicians who allegedly enabled the group.

“Two down, and two to go,” Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the investigative division of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), recently posted on social media. The push is referring to brothers Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar and Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar, the last two sons of Joaquín Guzmán Loera, alias “El Chapo,” who remain at the helm of the Chapitos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel.

Since their brothers Ovidio Guzmán López and Joaquín Guzmán López were captured and extradited to the United States in 2023 and 2024, respectively, Iván and Jesús Alfredo remain high-priority targets for both US and Mexican authorities.

The two fugitive brothers were also in the spotlight earlier this year for their alleged high-level political connections. US prosecutors indicted Sinaloa state Governor Rubén Rocha Moya and nine other officials with drug and weapons trafficking in April.

The administration of US President Donald Trump alleges that the two sons supported Rocha Moya’s election campaign in June 2021. In exchange, prosecutors said Rocha Moya allowed the criminal faction to operate with impunity, enabling corrupt officials to take positions of power within the state government and law enforcement agencies.

The Origin of the Chapitos

Four of El Chapo’s sons inherited their father’s business after he was extradited to the United States in 2017. Their faction came to be known as the Chapitos, who were core leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel alongside a faction led by Ismael Zambada García, alias “El Mayo,” and another led by El Chapo’s brother, Aureliano Guzmán Loera, alias “El Guano.”

The Chapitos became increasingly significant in developing the synthetic drug trade and other criminal economies in northern and western Mexico and beyond, according to US prosecutors.

One Down: Ovidio’s Eventual Capture 

The attempted capture of Ovidio Guzmán López in 2019 was broadly considered an embarrassment for then-Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. 

What came to be known as the “Culicanázo” saw Mexican authorities briefly arrest and ultimately release Ovidio after government forces were overwhelmed by the group in Sinaloa’s capital city under the leadership of Iván Archivaldo. 

Ovidio, alias “El Ratón,” was recaptured in January 2023 and extradited to the United States later that year. He remains in US custody.

Two Down: Joaquín Guzmán López Hands Himself In

A year after his brother’s capture, Joaquín Guzmán López handed himself in to the US government. He was arrested in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, on July 25, 2024, alongside El Mayo. He reportedly tricked or kidnapped El Mayo onto a plane which was then flown into the United States from Sinaloa. 

Joaquín admitted to his role in the abduction of El Mayo and confessed to luring him to a meeting on the outskirts of Culiacán, according to court documents. Joaquín later pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and other charges.

And Then There Were Two

Pressure on the remaining Chapitos is high. Both brothers are on the US Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) most wanted list with a $10 million bounty on their heads. Mexican authorities have also issued warrants for their arrests.

More heat came from the United States last year, when the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned the two fugitive leaders, as well as other key financial operators for their role in fentanyl trafficking.

Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar

Iván was first charged in the Southern District of California in July 2014 and has accumulated more charges for coordinating fentanyl trafficking into the United States and shipping fentanyl precursor chemicals from China to Mexico. 

His central role in the 2019 gun battle with Mexican government forces, during which Sinaloa Cartel henchmen generated chaos and set roadblocks throughout the city of Culiacán to prevent Ovidio’s arrest, is cited in the US arrest warrant for his capture.

Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar

The US Treasury Department alleges that Jesús Alfredo is his brother’s lieutenant, and responsible for torturing rivals to extract information about infiltrations into areas of Sinaloa dominated by the Chapitos. Jesús Alfredo has been charged with the same crimes as his brother.

What Lies Ahead for the Fugitive Brothers?

Earlier this year, Mexican media reported that Iván narrowly evaded capture by Mexican authorities, which Mexico’s security chief Omar Garcia Harfuch denied.

The Los Angeles Times reported that both brothers could be negotiating their surrender with the US government. While that remains to be seen, arresting both of the last remaining Chapitos leaders is a top priority for both the US and Mexican governments.