The wife of Mexican drug lord El Chapo, Emma Coronel Aispuro, was sentenced today by a US federal court to three years in prison after admitting her involvement in drug trafficking by the powerful Sinaloa cartel.
Prosecutors had called for a four-year prison sentence. Judge Rudolf Contreras said the 32-year-old Mexican-American woman was very young when she married El Chapo and had worked with authorities since her arrest in February.
The young woman, who wore a dark suit and whose face was barely visible behind a black mask, did not react to the announcement of her sentence.
Emma Coronell pleaded guilty in June to three counts: involvement in drug trafficking, money laundering and dealing with a foreign drug dealer.
In addition to the 48 months of detention, the team of prosecutors who have taken over the case had demanded on November 18 that he be sentenced to five years of police surveillance and the payment of the sum of 1.5 million dollars.
Mariel Colon’s lawyer denied that her client worked with prosecutors to receive a reduced sentence. He also denied that he had benefited from the protected witness status.
“Her daughters are in Mexico and we know very well what is happening to those who work together and their families,” she told Univision, referring to the cartels’ retaliation.
The former beauty queen was accused of acting as a “mediator” between Joaquin Guzman, that is, of El Chapo and his associates, and of participating in the management of the Sinaloa cartel as soon as El Chapo was imprisoned in Mexico.
“Important role”
Emma Coronel Aispuro married “El Tsapo”, 32 years her senior, in 2007 and had twins with him.
Between her marriage and her arrest in February, she benefited “in multiple ways” and “aware” of her husband’s trafficking profits, according to the indictment.
Based on this, she confessed that she knew about the import to the USA of at least 450 kilos of cocaine, 90 kilos of heroin, 45 kilos of methamphetamine and 90 tons of marijuana.
The woman, who has dual American and Mexican citizenship, helped, according to prosecutors, “El Tsapo” to escape in 2015 from a Mexican prison.
The drug lord had then escaped from a 1.5-kilometer-long tunnel, which was hidden under the shower of his cell and was equipped with rails, dealing a major blow to the Mexican authorities.
However, prosecutors note that she did not have a serious criminal record before her arrest and “soon admitted her responsibilities”.
“It is very clear that he cooperated” with the American justice, explained to the French Agency Michael Leterieri, experts in the drug trafficking groups in Mexico, emphasizing that “he played an important role in the operations” of the Sinaloa cartel.
“Good luck,” the judge in Aispuro said as soon as the hearing was over.
“I hope you raise your twins in a different environment than what you have experienced so far.”
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