Despite being wanted for their involvement in the Sinaloa Cartel, the sons of imprisoned drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman still have time to make money by merchandising both their father’s name and their own reputation with the La Chapiza faction of the cartel.
Iván Archivaldo, Jesús Alfredo, Joaquín, and Ovidio Guzmán, or as they are better known, Los Chapitos, are using their criminal “brand” to sell hats, T-shirts, stickers, and other items in Mexico through online retailers.
Since 2010, there have been 27 trademark registrations for the name “El Chapo” in Denmark, France, the Philippines, and the United States, according to the World Trademark Database. In Mexico, there are four recorded uses of the drug kingpin’s name held by El Chapo’s daughter, Alejandrina Gisselle Guzman Salazar. Using social media platforms like TikTok, Los Chapitos have taken their brand mainstream despite not being a registered trademark.
Items with the La Chapiza logo and brand have become popular items on online stores like Amazon and Mercado Libre, a Mexican auction site similar to eBay. Items featuring the La Chapiza logo, which includes the letters CHA followed by a slice of pizza, include baseball hats, T-shirts, and stickers.
Last year, videos mentioning La Chapiza began cropping upon TikTok with most of them showing Sinaloa Cartel gunmen or Chapitos posing with weapons or patrolling the streets of Sonora.
Last month, Insight Crime, a publication specializing in security issues, published an analysis of La Chapiza’s operations that included the group’s internet presence, along with its use of narco-messages or threats and tactics of impunity.
Recently, the La Chapiza faction of the Sinaloa Cartel engaged in a fierce shootout with Mexican authorities after they arrested one of its leaders, El Chapo’s son, Ovidio “El Raton” Guzman Lopez. In response to Lopez’s arrest, La Chapiza laid siege to Culiacan.
Mexican Government: 29 Killed, 35 Injured in Operation to Arrest El Chapo’s Son (breitbart.com)
