Emma Coronel Aispuro, Wife of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Pleads Guilty to Drug Charges in U.S., Faces Potential Life Sentence
Emma Coronel Aispuro, the wife of Sinaloa Drug Cartel's Juaquin Guzman also known as "El Chapo," pleaded guilty to federal charges that stemmed out from assisting to run the notorious Mexican Drug Cartel.
Coronel Aispuro, a 31-year-old former beauty queen, pleaded guilty on Thursday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., according to an Al Jazeera report. Speaking through a Spanish translator before U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras, CBS News reported that Coronel Aispuro admitted to the three criminal charges she was facing, including her involvement in her husband's rambling drug cartel.
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Wife of "El Chapo" Pleads Guilty
Judge Contreras asked Coronel Aispuro whether she was involved in the charges the federal government filed against her that can be proven at trial, El Chapo's wife responded "yes." The former beauty queen pleaded guilty to three counts of conspiring to distribute illegal drugs, conspiring to launder money, and engaging in financial dealings with the Sinaloa drug cartel. She also admitted that she helped her husband escape from a prison in Mexico in 2015.
Because of this, Coronel Aispuro is facing a maximum of life imprisonment for the drug distribution charge. Meanwhile, a maximum of 20 years in prison can be sentenced against EL Chapo's wife for conspiring to launder money, while a maximum of 10 years of imprisonment for engaging in transactions with a designated foreign drug trafficker.
Apart from the sentences, Emma Coronel Aispuro was also subject to fines of more than $10 million for the three counts.
Meanwhile, Coronel Aispuro's attorney, Jeffrey Lichtman said that El Chapo's wife is at ease with her decision. Furthermore, Lichtman argued that his client had a "very minimal participant' in a larger scheme of the drug cartel and is not a cooperator.
Coronel Aispuro is being held without bond and is scheduled to be sentenced in September.
Joaquin Guzman's Wife, Emma Coronel Aispuro: Arrest and l"Life Before Being With "El Chapo"
Emma Coronel Aispuro was a former beauty queen and a journalism student. She had dual U.S.-Mexico citizenship. Coronel Aispuro became the wife of Joaquin Guzman also known as "El Chapo," who was a long-time leader of the Sinaloa drug cartel, and responsible for smuggling cocaine and other drugs in the United States. The former beauty queen's husband is currently held at a maximum-security prison located in Florence, Colorado.
Coronel Aispuro was arrested at Dulles International Airport, which is located outside Washington, in February. Prosecutor Anthony Nardozzi accused her of aiding her husband regarding the Sinaloa drug cartel's operation.
Furthermore, she was also accused by Nardozzi to cooperate with El Chapo's sons, to coordinate Guzman's prison break in 2015 through a one-mile-long underground tunnel.
But being the wife of El Chapo was not only her connection to Joaquin Guzman. It was reported that Emma Coronel Aispuro's father, Ines Coronel Barrera, was El Chapo's top lieutenants before he was arrested in Mexico in 2013.
WATCH: Emma Coronel, wife of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, pleads guilty to U.S. narcotics, conspiracy charges - from Los Angeles Times