New Delhi: Emma Coronel, wife of the incarcerated Mexican drug lord Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman, is expected to be released in Los Angeles on Wednesday, as announced by the US Bureau of Prisons. She was arrested in 2021 in connection with drug trafficking charges.
The 34-year-old, who was born in the United States, received a three-year prison sentence in 2021 after pleading guilty to three charges involving assistance to the Sinaloa drug cartel. These charges include conspiracy to launder money, distribute illegal drugs, and engage in financial transactions.
Coronel also confessed to acting as a courier between Guzman, who was the leader of the cartel, and other members of the organisation while he was incarcerated in Mexico’s Altiplano prison following his arrest in 2014.
Her sentencing judge noted that Coronel promptly assumed responsibility for her actions and willingly agreed to surrender almost $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, without providing additional specifics, announced on its website that Coronel would be released on Wednesday from a low-security confinement facility in Los Angeles.
Guzman is currently serving a life sentence in the United States after being extradited in 2017. His extradition followed two escapes from Mexican maximum-security prisons, including one involving the mile-long tunnel from his cell.
Coronel’s legal representatives have not provided an immediate response to requests for comment.
She has two daughters with Guzman, whom she met during her days as a beauty queen. Both of them wed in 2007 when she was just 18 years old.
Who is El Chapo?
Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán, whose full name is Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera, is a notorious Mexican drug lord and the former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, one of the most powerful and dangerous drug trafficking organizations in the world. He was born on April 4, 1957, in La Tuna, Sinaloa, Mexico.
El Chapo gained notoriety for his involvement in the illegal drug trade and his ability to evade capture for many years. He was responsible for smuggling large quantities of cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamine, and other drugs into the United States and other countries. His escape from Mexican prisons, including a dramatic tunnel escape, added to his legend.
In 2016, after his capture and extradition to the United States, El Chapo faced numerous charges related to drug trafficking, money laundering, and involvement in organized crime. In February 2019, he was convicted on multiple counts in a high-profile trial in the United States and subsequently sentenced to life in prison.
El Chapo’s criminal empire and escape stories have made him one of the most infamous figures in the history of drug trafficking and organized crime.
