SAN DIEGO (AP) — The son of a leader of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel has been indicted on U.S. drug smuggling charges.
An attorney entered a plea of not guilty Monday in federal court in San Diego on behalf of Damaso Lopez Serrano.
He’s the son of Damaso Lopez Nunez, who has launched a struggle for control of the cartel following the arrest of its leader, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.
The elder Lopez was arrested by Mexican authorities in Mexico City in May.
Guzman was extradited to the United States earlier this year to face drug charges.
The elder Lopez, known by the nickname “El Licenciado” — a title for college graduates — was long considered Guzman’s right-hand man and helped him escape from a Mexican prison in 2001.
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