Just hours later, Mexican Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch confirmed the report.

During a radio interview, García Harfuch explained the reasoning behind the deal, saying it was made during negotiations between López and U.S. authorities while he was being transferred to the United States.

“It is evident that his family is going to the U.S. because of a negotiation or an offer that the Department of Justice is giving him,” he told listeners.

He also clarified that none of the Guzmán-López family members allowed into the U.S. were wanted by Mexican law enforcement.

In a newly released video from Spanish outlet Radio Fórmula, several of El Chapo’s relatives were seen handling luggage while waiting to be processed at the border between Tijuana, Mexico, and San Diego, California.

Harfuch confirmed the news just hours after a speech by US Attorney General Pam Bondi, in which she revealed that the government would soon be pressing charges for ‘narcoterrorism’ against several cartel leaders. This came shortly after Trump officially labeled a number of major cartels as ‘foreign terrorist organisations’.

Following the announcement, Southern California US Attorney Adam Gordon issued a strong warning.

“Let me be direct, to the leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, you are no longer the hunters, you are the hunted,” he said.

“You will be betrayed by your friends, you will be hounded by your enemies and you will ultimately find yourself and your face here in a courtroom in the Southern District of California.”