US court sentences son of El Chapo’s right-hand man to 5 years in prison

Dámaso López Serrano, a Sinaloa Cartel brag accused successful Mexico of being the mastermind down the 2017 execution of writer Javier Valdez and a cooperating witnesser for the U.S. government, was sentenced connected Wednesday to 5 years successful situation by a U.S. national tribunal connected charges of cause trafficking.

López pleaded blameworthy successful the Eastern District Court of Virginia 9 months agone to conspiring to administer 400 grams oregon much of fentanyl. 

López Serrano has been accused of masterminding the 2017 execution of internationally honored Mexican writer Javier Valdez. (X)

Once seen arsenic a contender to pb the Sinaloa Cartel, López was arrested successful December 2024 successful Virginia, wherever helium was nether location arrest.

López Serrano, aka “El Mini Lic,” is the lad of Dámaso López Núñez, alias “El Licenciado,” the erstwhile right-hand antheral of Sinaloa Cartel laminitis Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. Both “El Licenciado” and El Chapo are serving beingness sentences successful U.S. prisons.

López Serrano’s communicative has taken respective melodramatic turns successful the past decade. 

After the 2016 seizure of El Chapo, a confrontation broke retired betwixt Guzmán’s sons and López Serrano for power of the Sinaloa Cartel, a conflict that turned violent.

“El Mini Lic” voluntarily surrendered to U.S. authorities successful the borderline metropolis of Calexico, California, successful July 2017, aft different of the Sinaloa Cartel’s long-time leaders, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, reportedly ordered a deed connected him. In January 2018, López pleaded guilty to “conspiracy to administer controlled substances for the intent of unlawful importation.”

During the 2018-2019 proceedings of El Chapo, “El Mini Lic” was 1 of the witnesses utilized by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

In 2022, López Serrano was acceptable to beryllium sentenced to six years for trafficking cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin, but pleaded for leniency, declaring that helium wanted to beryllium “a antithetic idiosyncratic than helium was and commencement a caller life.” 

The justice sentenced him to “time already served,” releasing him nether the presumption of 5 years of supervised probation, though the U.S. Department of Justice said it was inactive prosecuting him for different crimes.

By then, Mexican authorities had straight identified López Serrano arsenic the mastermind of Valdez’s murder, issuing an apprehension warrant against him successful January 2020. 

Then came his apprehension successful 2024, the effect of an FBI sting operation, and Mexico announced it would question his extradition.

Griselda Triana — Valdez’s widow — criticized Judge Anthony Trenga’s sentencing determination in a Facebook post, saying the five-year condemnation was thing for the antheral who ordered the assassination of her husband.

“What are 5 much years to this murderer? Nothing, due to the fact that astatine immoderate infinitesimal helium volition negociate his aboriginal merchandise for bully behaviour arsenic helium did erstwhile before,” Triana said.

With reports from El País, N+, La Jornada, The Washington Post, InSight Crime and Latinus