The Chapitos: From which marriages did Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán's children come?

MEXICO CITY (apro).— The name of Joaquín Guzmán Loera, known as “El Chapo,” has not only been linked to security operations and judicial proceedings , but also to his offspring, who have occupied a prominent place in the present of the Sinaloa Cartel. Four of his children, known as “Los Chapitos,” have been identified by Mexican and U.S. authorities as part of the upper echelons of that criminal organization . The question of which of his wives he fathered them with has an answer in official documents and public records that allow us to reconstruct the drug trafficker’s family tree.

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The Chapitos and their family origin

The "Chapitos" are Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar, Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar, Ovidio Guzmán López, and Joaquín Guzmán López . Although they are collectively identified by the same nickname, they do not all share the same mother.

The first two were born from Guzmán's marriage to Alejandrina María Salazar Hernández , while the last two are children of his second wife, Griselda López Pérez.

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Emma Coronel Aispuro, Guzmán's third wife, is not the mother of any of the "Chapitos." With her, he only had two twin daughters, María Joaquina and Emali Guadalupe, born in 2011 in Lancaster, California.

With Alejandrina Salazar: Iván Archivaldo and Jesús Alfredo

In 1977, Joaquín Guzmán Loera married Alejandrina María Salazar Hernández in Durango . The couple had four children: César, Alejandrina Giselle, Iván Archivaldo, and Jesús Alfredo.

Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar, nicknamed “El Chapito” , is considered one of the main heirs of the criminal structure.

Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar, also identified by U.S. authorities, was included on the Treasury Department's sanctions list.

Both are part of the so-called "Chapitos" and have been mentioned in official U.S. statements as high-ranking members of the Sinaloa Cartel.

With Griselda López: Ovidio and Joaquín Guzmán López

Guzmán later married Griselda López Pérez, also known as Karla Pérez Rojo. They had at least four children: Joaquín Guzmán López, Ovidio Guzmán López, Griselda Guadalupe, and Édgar Guzmán López , who was murdered in Culiacán in 2008.

Ovidio Guzmán López, known as "El Ratón," was arrested in 2019 and again in 2023. He currently faces legal proceedings in the United States after being extradited in September 2023.

Joaquín Guzmán López has been identified by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) as a participant in drug trafficking operations.

Ovidio and Joaquín, along with Iván Archivaldo and Jesús Alfredo , make up the group that U.S. authorities identify as “Los Chapitos.”

The exclusion of Emma Coronel and her daughters

Emma Coronel Aispuro married Guzmán in 2007 and gave birth to twin girls in California in 2011. Their daughters, María Joaquina and Emali Guadalupe, are not members of the "Chapitos." To date, they have not been publicly linked to cartel-related activities nor have they appeared in any legal proceedings.

This contrast marks a clear difference within Guzmán's descendants: on the one hand, the older sons were linked to their first wives, and on the other, the younger daughters were linked to Coronel.

The role of the Chapitos in the Sinaloa Cartel

The "Chapitos" have been repeatedly mentioned in press releases from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury as active leaders in the trafficking of fentanyl and methamphetamines.

In 2017, the Treasury Department added Iván Archivaldo and Jesús Alfredo to its sanctions list. In 2019, following the failed operation in Culiacán known as the "Culiacanazo," Ovidio Guzmán López became the center of international attention. His recapture in 2023 and extradition months later confirmed his role within the organization.

The U.S. Department of Justice identifies them as part of the faction that directly inherited their father's operations following his extradition in 2017 and conviction in New York in 2019.

Timeline of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán's wives and children

1977 – Marriage to Alejandrina María Salazar Hernández

• Children: Cesar Guzman, Alejandrina Giselle Guzman, Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar and Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar.
• From this union were born the first two “Chapitos”: Iván Archivaldo and Jesús Alfredo.

1980s – Marriage to Griselda López Pérez (also known as Karla Pérez Rojo)

• Children: Joaquin Guzman Lopez, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, Edgar Guzman Lopez (deceased in 2008) and Griselda Guadalupe Guzman Lopez.
• From this relationship were born the other two “Chapitos”: Joaquín and Ovidio.

2007 – Marriage to Emma Coronel Aispuro

• Daughters: María Joaquina Guzmán Coronel and Emali Guadalupe Guzmán Coronel.
• Neither of the twins is part of the “Chapitos”.