Emma Coronel Aispuro, wife of Mexican drug lord Joaquin Guzman “El Chapo”, was released after two years in prison. The former beauty queen was convicted of participating in the construction of the Sineloa cartel. Now she faces four years of supervised release.
“We can confirm that Emma Coronel Aispuro has been released from the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP) today, September 13, 2023,” FBOP spokeswoman Randilee Giamusso said in an email quoted by CNN. “For privacy and security reasons, we do not share additional information about people who are no longer in our custody,” she added.
Coronel had been in a transit center in Long Beach, California, since June. She was previously held in a Texas penitentiary. Now, according to the verdict, the woman will face four years of supervised release.
Emma Coronel heading to court (2019)Getty Images North America
USA. Detention and sentence of “El Chapo’s” wife
“El Chapo’s” wife was arrested in February 2021 at Washington-Dulles Airport in Virginia. She was charged with involvement in international drug trafficking. In November of the same year, she was sentenced to three years in prison, which was later reduced. Coronel pleaded guilty to charges including knowingly and willfully conspiring to distribute heroin, cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamine, money laundering and engaging in a financial relationship with the Sinaloa drug cartel. She also pleaded guilty to conspiring to help her husband escape from a Mexican prison in 2015.
Coronel was born in California – she has American and Mexican citizenship. In her youth she took part in beauty contests. In 2007, she married Joaquín Guzman Loera, nicknamed El Chapo, who in 2019 was sentenced in New York to life imprisonment plus 30 years, without the possibility of parole. He was also ordered to forfeit his property in the amount of USD 12.6 billion.
Son of “El Chapo” arrested
In January this year, Mexican security forces arrested a man wanted on drug smuggling charges after a heavy exchange of fire “El Chapo’s” son, Ovidio Guzman. The United States demanded the extradition of the gangster, but the federal court did not Mexico quickly issued a decision preventing his transfer to the American justice system. This was interpreted by commentators as a gesture of submission to criminals.
“El Chapo” was one of the most important drug smugglers to the United States. In 2009, he was ranked 701st on the list of the richest people in the world. His fortune was estimated at one billion dollars.
Main photo source: Getty Images North America