Dámaso López Serrano, alias “Mini Lic,” was a key operative of the Sinaloa Cartel and is the son of Dámaso López Núñez, alias “Licenciado.”
Before surrendering to US authorities in 2017, Mini Lic led a youth faction of the Sinaloa Cartel known as the “Ántrax,” which operated primarily in Culiacán, Sinaloa’s capital city. After receiving a reduced sentence for cooperating with authorities, he was released in 2022, only to be arrested again in 2024 on fentanyl trafficking charges. In May 2025, he pleaded guilty in a federal court in Virginia, likely as part of a new cooperation agreement.
History
Born in Culiacán, Sinaloa, in 1987, Mini Lic was exposed to the drug trade from an early age. His father, Dámaso López Núñez, alias “Licenciado,” worked in the prison system at Puente Grande, Jalisco, and helped Joaquín Guzmán Loera, alias “El Chapo,” escape for the first time in 2001. He joined the Sinaloa Cartel after that to become one of El Chapo’s closest allies. Over more than a decade, he built his own drug trafficking network in Mexico, the United States, Central and South America. This close relationship helped Mini Lic embed himself early in the organization and later take command of his own cell, known as the Ántrax.
Following El Chapo’s recapture in February 2014, the group’s leadership was temporarily delegated to Licenciado, although Guzmán escaped again in July 2015. His final capture and extradition to the United States in 2017 sparked an intense internal power struggle. Between 2017 and 2021, Mini Lic and his father clashed with factions led by Ismael Zambada García, alias “El Mayo,” and El Chapo’s sons, known collectively as the Chapitos. The infighting led to a wave of violence in Sinaloa and further fractured the organization.
After Licenciado’s arrest and extradition in May 2017, Mini Lic surrendered to US authorities a couple of months later at the Calexico border crossing in California. He later pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and money laundering.
While incarcerated, he cooperated with US prosecutors, which helped him secure a reduced sentence and early release in 2022. But his freedom was short-lived. In December 2024, he was arrested again in Virginia on fentanyl trafficking charges. In May 2025, he pleaded guilty in a federal court. He and his father remain in US custody.
Criminal Activities
In August 2016, US authorities in California charged Mini Lic with drug trafficking and money laundering. In the indictment, prosecutors accused him of conspiring to import and distribute methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin in the United States, as well as conspiring to launder money. He pleaded guilty to the charges in 2018.
Mexican authorities named him as the alleged mastermind behind the murder of journalist Javier Valdez Cárdenas, known for his hard-hitting reporting on organized crime. Valdez was gunned down in broad daylight in Culiacán, Sinaloa in May 2017. The killing triggered international outrage over violence against journalists in Mexico. Mini Lic has never been prosecuted for the killing.
Mini Lic was released from US prison in 2022, but was arrested again in the United States on December 12, 2024, on new fentanyl trafficking charges. According to authorities, the crimes occurred after his release and were not linked to any prior warrant.
Geography
Before his 2017 arrest, Mini Lic operated not only in his home state of Sinaloa, particularly in Culiacán, but also in Baja California Sur. In 2015, a cell known as the “Dámaso,” led by Guadalupe Acosta López, alias “El Javier,” was reportedly expelled from the Baja California Sur state capital La Paz by members of the Mayitos faction. Reports suggest the cell operated under Mini Lic’s command.
Allies and Enemies
Mini Lic was part of his father’s inner circle and shared many of the same allies and enemies within the Sinaloa Cartel.
After El Chapo’s capture, Licenciado tried to position himself as his successor, which heightened tensions with other factions. In February 2017, authorities accused Mini Lic and his father of orchestrating an assassination attempt against El Mayo and two of El Chapo’s sons. Authorities saw the attack as part of a broader power struggle, marking a definitive break between rival factions. Later that year, both were linked to an assault on the home of El Chapo’s mother in June and the kidnapping of his sons in August.
Following his arrest, Mini Lic’s cooperation with US authorities is believed to have been key to several prosecutions of top crime figures, including the arrests of El Chapo’s sons Ovidio and Joaquín Guzmán, who are now in US custody.
Among Mini Lic’s closest allies were his alleged financial operator Nahúm Abraham Sicairos Montalvo, alias “El Quinceañero;” Mini Lic’s uncle, Álvaro López Núñez; and the group’s security chief, Esteban Espinoza, alias “El Pantera.” Pantera was killed in 2014 during a shootout, allegedly by members of the Chapitos faction.
Prospects
As El Chapo’s godson and a former member of the Sinaloa Cartel’s inner circle, Mini Lic has intimate knowledge of the group’s infrastructure, trafficking routes, financial flows, and internal operations. While the details of his 2017 cooperation agreement have not been made public, his testimony likely contributed to several major cases against the group’s leadership, including two of El Chapo’s sons now jailed in the United States.
Following his second arrest, Mini Lic pleaded guilty in May 2025, apparently seeking another plea deal. While he may still be a valuable source of intelligence, his role within the organization appears to be over. His and his father’s imprisonment weakened their faction and stripped them of the ability to challenge the organization’s remaining leadership.