El Chapo’s wife set for prison release

Former beauty queen Emma Coronel Aispuro was convicted of facilitating her husband’s narcotics empire

Emma Coronel Aispuro, the wife of notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman, is set to be released from US custody on Wednesday, records indicate, two years after she was imprisoned for her role in facilitating her husband’s narcotics empire.

Coronel, 34, who is a dual US-Mexican citizen, pleaded guilty in November 2021 to drug-trafficking and money-laundering charges, as well as assisting her husband’s 2015 escape from a Mexican prison.

The sentence also requires her to complete four years of supervised release, as well as forfeiting $1.5 million. During the final court proceedings, Coronel expressed remorse for her dealings with Guzman and the Sinaloa Cartel.

“For privacy, safety and security reasons, we do not elaborate on specific release plans,” an FBI spokesperson told CNN of Coronel’s release. US federal prison records indicate that Coronel was being held at a Residential Reentry Management facility in California and will be released on Wednesday.

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Guzman, who has escaped from prison twice, is currently serving a life sentence at Colorado’s high-security Supermax prison following his 2019 conviction for engaging in a criminal enterprise, drug trafficking, and various firearms charges.

Coronel admitted in court that she was complicit in assisting Guzman with the importation of around 450kg of cocaine, 90kg of heroin and close to 90,000kg of marijuana in the United States.

Despite her involvement in high levels of drug trafficking, federal prosecutors said Coronel was not a leader in the organization and had only a minor role in what was a much larger operation conducted by Guzman – who was described in court as a “ruthless and bloodthirsty leader” of one of the world’s most prominent drug cartels.

The former beauty queen married Guzman in 2007 on her 18th birthday and was frequently pictured during her husband’s trial wearing luxury clothing, while her lavish lifestyle was often portrayed on her verified Instagram account, which has been inactive since December 2020.

Guzman’s Sinaloa Cartel remains in operation. Several associates of the group were sanctioned by the Biden administration in February for their involvement in the production and distribution of fentanyl and methamphetamine.