Question

Donald Trump invited 17 family members of El Chapo to live in the U.S.

Answer 1

The claim that Donald Trump "invited 17 family members of El Chapo to live in the U.S." is misleading. While it’s true that 17 relatives of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán—including his ex-wife Griselda López Pérez and their daughter—entered the United States through the Tijuana-San Diego border in 2025, this was not due to a personal invitation from Trump. Instead, their entry was part of a legal agreement between U.S. authorities and El Chapo’s son, Ovidio Guzmán López, who had been extradited to the U.S. in 2023. The arrangement was confirmed by Mexican Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch, who stated the family’s entry was linked to a negotiated deal involving cooperation with U.S. law enforcement. The decision was made by U.S. justice officials, not by Trump himself. So while the core event did happen, the framing of Trump “inviting” them distorts the actual process and context behind the legal agreement.

Sources:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/el-chapo-family-guzman-son-66nlqflp5

https://nypost.com/2025/05/14/us-news/el-chapos-ex-wife-daughter-among-17-relatives-who-crossed-us-border-in-surprise-deal-reports

https://abc7chicago.com/post/el-chapo-guzmans-sinaloa-cartel-family-members-entered-us-deal-trump-administration-mexican-security-chief-confirms/16418828

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sinaloa-cartel-leader-family-enters-us-deal-trump-administration-mexico

Answer 2

In these articles, I found, CBS News and the New York Times both say that 17 members of the Sinaloa Cartel entered the United States. According to CBS News, "Mexico's security chief confirmed Tuesday that 17 family members of cartel leaders crossed into the U.S. last week as part of a deal between a son of the former head of the Sinaloa Cartel and the Trump administration." The New York Times also states this same idea. From the articles I found, I wouldn't say Donald Trump invited them, but his administration did allow them to enter the U.S. on a deal, which we do not know what that deal is.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sinaloa-cartel-leader-family-enters-us-deal-trump-administration-mexico/

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/14/world/americas/mexico-cartel-chapo-family.html

Comments

I agree with your claim, reports confirm that 17 family members of cartel leaders entered the U.S. as part of a deal between Ovidio Guzmán López, a son of the former Sinaloa Cartel leader, and the Trump administration (CBS News, 2025). Mexico’s Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch verified that these individuals crossed the border from Tijuana with their suitcases, where U.S. agents were waiting (MSN News, 2025). While the exact details of the deal remain unclear, Harfuch suggested that Guzmán López had been cooperating with U.S. authorities, possibly pointing fingers at other criminal organizations (Yahoo News, 2025). The Justice Department has not publicly commented on the arrangement, and Mexican officials have stated that the U.S. government has yet to share information with them, but it has been brought up just not confirmed yet as sources have stated.
Sources:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sinaloa-cartel-leader-family-enters-us-deal-trump-administration-mexico/
(CBS News, 2025)
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/what-we-know-about-trump-admins-reported-deal-allowing-mexican-cartel-family-members-to-enter-us/ar-AA1EVDwv
(MSN News, 2025)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/cartel-family-members-entered-us-142426524.html
(Yahoo News, 2025)

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You're absolutely right to point out the difference between Trump personally "inviting" El Chapo's family and his administration permitting their entry as part of a legal or diplomatic deal. The CBS News article clearly states that “17 family members of cartel leaders crossed into the U.S. last week as part of a deal” involving El Chapo’s son and the Trump administration — but it doesn’t suggest Trump personally orchestrated or extended an invitation to them. Likewise, the New York Times article supports that this was a negotiated agreement likely linked to cooperation or extradition arrangements, not a gesture of welcome. So while the Trump administration was involved in approving or facilitating the deal, the original claim that Donald Trump invited them is exaggerated and misleading.

 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sinaloa-cartel-leader-family-enters-us-deal-trump-administration-mexico
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/14/world/americas/mexico-cartel-chapo-family.html

https://nypost.com/2025/05/14/us-news/el-chapos-ex-wife-daughter-among-17-relatives-who-crossed-us-border-in-surprise-deal-reports
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/el-chapo-family-guzman-son-66nlqflp5

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You did a great job clarifying the distinction between the Trump administration’s involvement and the idea that Trump personally invited the cartel family. It’s important to highlight that the deal seems tied to cooperation or legal negotiations, which makes the situation more complex than some headlines suggest. Including multiple credible sources helps paint a clearer picture of the ongoing uncertainty around the details.

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good fact check, you used multiple strong sources, it might help to mention if any official government statements ( besides media reports) confirm the exact terms of the deal.

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I like how you explained how it wasn't Trump directly inviting members of El Chapos family to the White House. I don't know the original claim makes it sound like Trump was gonna invite them over for like a dinner party or to discuss warfare. You did a great job of simplifying and explaining that the administration had ideas of evincing them but not for sure.

Answer 3

The claim that Donald Trump personally invited 17 family members of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán to live in the U.S. is misleading. In reality, the family members entered the U.S. as part of a deal between American authorities and El Chapo’s son, Ovidio Guzmán López, who was cooperating with U.S. prosecutors after his 2023 extradition. The agreement reportedly involved Ovidio providing intelligence on rival cartels in exchange for leniency, which may have included safe passage for his relatives. Mexican officials confirmed the family crossed from Tijuana under federal escort, but they were not informed of the deal in advance. There is no evidence that Trump was personally involved in or approved this arrangement. The negotiations appear to have been handled by U.S. law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies as part of a broader strategy to dismantle cartel operations. 

Sources: 

https://abc7chicago.com/post/el-chapo-guzmans-sinaloa-cartel-family-members-entered-us-deal-trump-administration-mexican-security-chief-confirms/16418828/

And 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sinaloa-cartel-leader-family-enters-us-deal-trump-administration-mexico/

Comments

You're absolutely right that the original claim about Trump personally inviting El Chapo’s family is misleading. The real story, as confirmed by both ABC 7 Chicago and CBS News, is that the 17 family members entered the U.S. through a negotiated agreement tied to El Chapo’s son, Ovidio Guzmán López, who had been extradited and was cooperating with U.S. prosecutors. The deal reportedly involved providing intelligence on rival cartels, and part of the arrangement may have included safe passage for his relatives. Importantly, Mexican officials, including Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch, confirmed the family's entry but said they were not notified in advance — another

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sinaloa-cartel-leader-family-enters-us-deal-trump-administration-mexico


https://abc7chicago.com/post/el-chapo-guzmans-sinaloa-cartel-family-members-entered-us-deal-trump-administration-mexican-security-chief-confirms/16418828/

Answer 4

The claim that Donald Trump "invited" family members of El Chapo to live in the United States is Misleading. Based on a NYT article, it does appear that several relatives of Sinaloa cartel members, an organization Joaquin Guzman Loera or El Chapo founded, entered the United States. While the exact circumstances of their entrance into the US seems unclear it was confirmed by Mexico's security secretary Omar Garcia Harfuch that relatives of one of El Chapo's sons, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, turned themselves in to American authorities, likely in exchange for aiding in the capture and prosecution of other Sinaloa Cartel members. It is worth adding that the security secretary is also quoted saying those who entered the US "were not targets and were not being sought by the Mexican authorities", indicating they were not active cartel members and rather merely relatives with information useful to the American authorities.

Therefore, it is true that relatives of Sinaloa Cartel members, possibly related directly to El Chapo, did enter the US, however, it is misleading to say they were "invited" by Donald Trump as their entrance into the country undoubted includes a quid pro quo.

NYT Article:

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/14/world/americas/mexico-cartel-chapo-family.html

Answer 5

Trump didn't invite 17 members of the cartel to "live" in the U.S. Although, from multiple articles, it seems like his administration allowed them to do so for a deal.

Fox News says this: "More than a dozen family members of Mexican cartel leaders entered the United States last week as part of a deal from the Trump administration".

Another source from CBS: "Mexico's security chief confirmed Tuesday that 17 family members of cartel leaders crossed into the U.S. last week as part of a deal between a son of the former head of the Sinaloa Cartel and the Trump administration".

Although there are indeed 17 family members of cartel leaders who are now in the U.S., it isn't just because Trump invited them for no reason, his administration allowed them to enter as a part of a deal.

https://www.livenowfox.com/news/cartel-family-members-entered-us-trump-administration-mexico

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sinaloa-cartel-leader-family-enters-us-deal-trump-administration-mexico/