El Chapo's Wife Emma Coronel Aispuro to Plead Guilty to Helping Him Run Notorious Sinaloa Cartel
Emma Coronel Aispuro, wife of Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, arrives at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, January 31, 2019 in New York City. The defense for El Chapo is expected to rest their case possibly as soon as this afternoon. El Chapo is accused of trafficking over 440,000 pounds of cocaine, in addition to other drugs, and exerting power through murders and kidnappings as he led the Sinaloa Cartel. Prosecutors say they expect to rest their case soon in the trial that began in November. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

El Chapo's wife, Emma Coronel Aispuro, is expected to plead guilty to federal charges of helping the Mexican drug kingpin of running the notorious Sinaloa cartel.

The New York Times reported that Emma Coronel Aispuro is set to appear in a federal court in Washington, D.C. on Thursday to enter her plea and admit her role in her husband's criminal activities.

El Chapo's wife was charged with international drug trafficking charges for allegedly participating in a conspiracy to distribute drugs like methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, and marijuana in the United States, the Independent reported.

She was also accused of helping Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman escape from a maximum-security Mexican prison in 2015 and plot another escape before the 63-year-old drug kingpin was extradited to the U.S. in 2017.

For pleading guilty, Emma Coronel Aispuro will be placed as a "minimal participant" and receive a lighter sentence compared to the maximum of 10 years to life in prison for the initial conspiracy indictment.

The reported plea deal will not require the 31-year-old former beauty queen to provide information about El Chapo's allies, business partners, or relatives.

Emma Coronel Aispuro's Arrest

Emma Coronel Aispuro was arrested in February at Dulles International Airport just outside Washington. Prosecutor Anthony Nardozzi said that El Chapo's wife had "worked closely" with members of the Sinaloa cartel, adding that she had the financial means to be flight-risk, according to a BBC News report.

Emma Coronel Aispuro, who had dual U.S.-Mexico citizenship, was a former journalism student and a beauty pageant winner.

During El Chapo's trial, she attended her husband's three-month trial in New York almost every day. She heard not only accounts of murder and rape but had also heard how El Chapo spied on her and other mistresses.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador commented on her arrest, saying it was a matter that the U.S. will decide. However, he said he hoped the U.S. would share more details regarding the matter.

The Involvement of El Chapo's Wife on Sinaloa Cartel

Prosecutors at her husband's trial presented substantial evidence that she and other mistresses were deeply involved in the criminal activity of the Sinaloa cartel.

Some of their involvements include helping El Chapo send messages to her father, Ines Coronel Barreras, who was one of El Chapo's top lieutenants before he was arrested in Mexico in 2013, according to the New York Times.

El Chapo had written to Coronel Aispuro describing how he had escaped from his oceanfront villa just in time as the raiding party broke through the door of a nearby house.

El Chapo's wife is being held temporarily at a jail in Alexandria, Virginia, the Insider reported. Coronel Aispuro could also be poised to be turned into an informant and be a candidate for the witness protection program.

A federal law enforcement source said she is definitely cooperating, adding that she wants to get far away from the violence and has always wanted to live in the U.S.

A Mexican investigative journalist Anabel Hernandez said that the former beauty queen might have sought fame to make her imprisoned husband jealous. Hernandez got to interview El Chapo's wife.

Hernandez added that Emma Coronel Aispuro had been very mad and very hurt by the details of El Chapo's infidelity.

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