Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement: "Today, as a result of United States and Mexico law enforcement cooperation, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, a leader of the Sinaloa Cartel was extradited to the United States."

"This action is the most recent step in the Justice Department’s effort to attack every aspect of the cartel’s operations. The fight against the cartels has involved incredible courage by United States law enforcement and Mexican law enforcement and military service members, many of whom have given their lives in the pursuit of justice," he said.

He thanked the Mexican government for the extradition of Ovidio Guzman Lopez.

"The Justice Department will continue to hold accountable those responsible for fueling the opioid epidemic that has devastated too many communities across the country," he said.

Guzman was flown to Chicago and landed Friday afternoon, Northern District of Illinois Assistant US Attorney Joseph D. Fitzpatrick told CNN.

The Mexican authorities arrested Ovidio Guzman Lopez in January this year from the northern state of Sinaloa.

He has been in custody since then.

The US government was seeking his extradition over drug trafficking.

Guzman had previously been arrested in October 2019, but was released on the orders of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to avoid bloodshed, and subsequently went into hiding until his arrest in 2023, reports CNN.

Meanwhile, Emma Coronel Aispuro, the wife of Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, was recently released from US prison.

She was released after serving nearly two years for drug trafficking and money laundering charges.

“We can confirm Emma Coronel Aispuro released from the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP) today, September 13, 2023,” Bureau of Prisons spokesperson Randilee Giamusso told CNN in an email.