Two sons of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, one of Mexico’s most infamous cartel leaders, are in discussions with the U.S. government regarding plea agreements tied to extensive drug-trafficking charges, attorneys revealed on Tuesday.

Joaquin Guzmán López, 38, has recently entered plea negotiations with federal prosecutors, as confirmed during a hearing in a Chicago courtroom. His younger brother, Ovidio Guzmán López, 34, began similar negotiations in October, according to attorneys at the time, Fox News reports.

Both brothers initially pleaded not guilty, and neither attended the brief court session on Tuesday.

“We need a bit more time,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Erskine stated during the hearing. “We’re trying to explore whether there might be a global resolution.”

Erskine did not provide further details in court and declined to comment to reporters afterward.

The brothers have been leading a faction of the Sinaloa cartel known as the “Chapitos,” or little Chapos, which U.S. authorities have identified as a key player in the export of fentanyl to the United States.

In 2023, federal prosecutors unveiled extensive indictments against multiple members of the Sinaloa cartel, including the Guzmán López brothers, as part of a sweeping fentanyl-trafficking investigation.

Joaquin Guzmán López was apprehended in July 2023 during a dramatic operation conducted by U.S. authorities in Texas. During the capture, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, a senior leader of the Sinaloa cartel, claimed that Guzmán López had kidnapped him and flown him on a private jet into the U.S., where Guzmán López surrendered to authorities.

According to the FBI, Zambada and Guzmán López are accused of managing the trafficking of “tens of thousands of pounds of drugs into the United States, along with related violence.” Zambada is scheduled to appear in a New York court next week.

Ovidio Guzmán López is set to return to court on February 27, while Joaquin Guzmán López’s next hearing is scheduled for March 19.