El Chapo Wife Emma Coronel To Be Freed From California Prison
El Chapo wife Emma Coronel is set to be released in Los Angeles on Wednesday, as confirmed by the US Bureau of Prisons.
The 34-year-old US-born woman was sentenced to three years in prison in 2021 after pleading guilty to three charges related to her involvement with the Sinaloa drug cartel, per Reuters.
These charges included conspiracy to launder money, distribute illegal drugs, and engage in financial transactions associated with illegal activities.
She also admitted to serving as a courier between Guzman and other organization members while incarcerated in Mexico's Altiplano prison following his arrest in 2014.
Coronel's sentencing judge noted that she had promptly taken responsibility for her actions and agreed to forfeit nearly $1.5 million in proceeds from her illicit activities to the US government.
As a result, her initial three-year sentence was subsequently reduced.
The Bureau of Prisons has confirmed her release from a low-security confinement institution in Los Angeles but has not provided further details regarding the circumstances.
It remains unclear whether Coronel faces additional charges related to drug trafficking or other offenses within Mexico. In addition to her release, she has been given two years of supervised release.
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Emma Coronel and El Chapo
Prosecutors had sought a four-year sentence for Emma Coronel, but US District Judge Rudolph Contreras ultimately imposed a three-year term.
The judge justified this decision by characterizing Coronel Aispuro's role as a small part of a larger criminal organization.
Coronel Aispuro's attorneys emphasized that she was just 17 years old when she met Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman and married him on her 18th birthday, CBS News reported.
They portrayed her as an impressionable minor married to a powerful man over three decades her senior.
Jeffrey Lichtman, her attorney at the time, stated, "This began when she was a very impressionable minor married to a powerful man more than three decades older."
On the other hand, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman is serving a life sentence in Colorado, United States.
He was convicted in February 2019 on charges related to murder, conspiracy, and drug trafficking. Additionally, he was ordered to forfeit $12.6 billion in profits from his drug business.
He is incarcerated in the highly secure United States Penitentiary Florence, a supermax federal prison located in Colorado.
El Chapo and Emma Coronel have twin daughters. During her sentencing, Coronel Aispuro had requested a punishment that would allow her to watch her then 9-year-old twins grow up.
El Chapo and Notorious Sinaloa Cartel
Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's criminal career is marked by daring escapes and a reign of terror associated with the notorious Sinaloa Cartel.
He was first arrested in Guatemala in 1993 and extradited to Mexico, where he received a 20-year sentence for murder and drug trafficking.
El Chapo managed a dramatic escape from prison in 2021, beginning a cat-and-mouse game with Mexican authorities.
He was captured again in 2014 in the state of Sinaloa, only to escape once more through a tunnel in 2015.
Mexican authorities announced his recapture in January 2016, and this time, he was extradited to the United States in the following year to face charges there.
Despite El Chapo's incarceration, the Sinaloa Cartel has maintained its status as one of the world's most powerful drug trafficking organizations.
The cartel is notorious for employing violence, including assassinations, murders, and torture, to protect its territory and interests.
The Sinaloa Cartel's modus operandi has drawn comparisons to Colombia's Cali Cartel, as it has cultivated strong connections with Mexico's political and economic elite.
Additionally, it has effectively infiltrated government and security forces in its operating regions.
Historically, the Sinaloa Cartel has had influential contacts within Mexico's National Action Party, which some sources claim contributed to the cartel's growth over the past decade.
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This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Bert Hoover
WATCH: 'El Chapo' Guzman's wife moved from prison to Long Beach halfway house - From ABC7
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