The Latest Breaking News from Vivianna Lopez

Wife of cartel boss who snitched on El Chapo is jailed for hiding $2.3m of drug money

Prosecutors say money was used for luxury vacations, shopping sprees, private schools fees and to attend a J-Lo concert

The Independent UK · Sep 27, 2023

‘Cartel wife’ Valerie Gaytan, whose husband helped bring down El Chapo, warns of ‘fast life’

On her husband Margarito Flores Jr.’s “Surviving El Chapo” podcast, she says she was relieved she got three and a half years in prison for money-laundering, not the five years prosecutors wanted. Still, “it is scary.”

Chicago Sun-Times · Sep 27, 2023

Another ‘cartel wife’ gets 3.5 years for hiding millions in drug money tied to El Chapo’s Sinaloa cartel

The feds pointed out the $2.3 million Valerie Gaytan stashed was generated “through the sale of thousands of kilograms of drugs in the United States ... that harmed individuals and communities in countless ways.”

Chicago Sun-Times · Sep 25, 2023

Wives of Flores twins, who helped put drug kingpin ‘El Chapo’ behind bars, to plea guilty to money laundering

The wives allegedly collected drug debts owed to their husbands and spent lavishly.

Chicago Sun-Times · Mar 16, 2023

Judge rules wives of Chicago twins who cooperated against ‘El Chapo’ did not have immunity

CHICAGO — A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the wives of twin Chicago drug traffickers who cooperated against Sinaloa boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman did not have immunity from prosecution, a considerable setback for the women who are accused of laundering millions of their husbands’ drug proceeds over a 12-year…

Chicago Tribune · Nov 8, 2022

‘Cartel wives’ married to Pedro Flores, Margarito Flores lose bid to dismiss money-laundering charges

Married to the convicted Chicago cocaine traffickers who helped bring down Sinaloa cartel drug lord Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán Loera, Vivianna Lopez and Valerie Gaytan are accused of spending millions of drug proceeds on everything from vacations to tuition.

Chicago Sun-Times · Nov 8, 2022

‘What do we have to protect us? Nothing’: Jail calls of Flores twins, wives discussing immunity played in court

CHICAGO — Chicago twins Pedro and Margarito Flores were in the middle of their cooperation against Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman in 2010 when authorities intercepted a series of jail calls showing the brothers and their wives had growing concerns over the lack of an immunity deal from…

Chicago Tribune · Jul 26, 2022

Chicago twin Pedro Flores testifies feds promised wife would get a pass in exchange for his cooperation against ‘El Chapo’

CHICAGO — Pedro Flores, a Chicago drug trafficker who along with his twin brother helped federal authorities build a case against Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, testified Monday that he was promised his wife and other family members would not be prosecuted for any drug-related activities.

Chicago Tribune · Jul 25, 2022

Pedro Flores, star witness against El Chapo, tells judge feds gave his wife immunity against prosecution

The onetime Chicago cocaine kingpin’s wife Vivianna Lopez and his brother’s wife Valerie Gaytan are fighting money-laundering charges. Flores says immunity for them was part of the deal he and his twin brother Margarito Flores, who both grew up in Little Village, were given.

Chicago Sun-Times · Jul 25, 2022

Wives of twins who helped bring down ‘El Chapo’ find themselves in spotlight, claiming they have immunity from federal hammer

CHICAGO — On a winter evening a little over a decade ago, as their husbands were busy cooperating against the most wanted cartel boss in the world, Valerie Gaytan and Vivianna Lopez were driving around Chicago’s North Side with more than $4 million in cash in their SUV.

Chicago Tribune · Jul 25, 2022