Emma Coronel: what we know about Chapo's wife 2:36
(CNN Spanish) -
Joaquín “el Chapo” Guzmán had it all: money, power and women.
One of them was Emma Coronel Aispuro, who is, according to very close people, the love of the life of the notorious drug trafficker who is serving a sentence in the United States.
Coronel pleaded guilty in June 2021 and was sentenced to 36 years in jail in November 2021.
During the trial against Guzmán Loera, which began in November 2018 and lasted for 12 weeks, Coronel was precisely one of the protagonists.
Years later, in June 2021, Emma Coronel pleaded guilty to three counts that include conspiracy to distribute heroin, cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamine for importation into the United States, conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and participation in transactions and deals of a designated major foreign drug trafficking organization.
Federal Judge Rudolph Contreras sentenced Emma Coronel to 36 months in prison and a fine of US $ 300, as she has given almost US $ 1.5 million to the United States government as funds from drug trafficking.
In addition to her enigmatic presence during the hearings, the young woman was also a recurring mention in the evidence presented by the US Department of Justice to prove the guilt of "El Chapo" Guzmán.
The evidence was largely based on communications intercepted by the authorities.
Coronel's guilty plea hearing was the first major federal court hearing in Washington where members of the press were received in person.
Colonel, wearing a white mask, answered questions from US District Judge Rudolph Contreras through a Spanish interpreter while wearing a green prison uniform.
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Who is Emma Coronel Aispuro, the wife of Chapo Guzmán?
Emma Coronel could face a minimum of 10 years in prison 4:48
A "bulletproof" marriage
“Every time Joaquín Guzmán Loera entered the courtroom, the first thing he did was look at the public to see if his wife Emma Coronel and their daughters were present,” says Yilber Vega, a CNN correspondent in New York.
Their marriage was, for many, bulletproof and also that of other women.
Emma Coronel Aispuro was 17 years old when she was crowned queen of the Guava and Coffee Fair in the northern Mexican state of Durango.
There he met Guzmán Loera.
It was love at first sight, according to versions of those who were there.
Guzmán was determined to be his queen.
Mónica Cano, a Mexican psychologist and criminologist, who for several months interviewed Guzmán in prison to prepare his criminological profile, told CNN: “Emma Coronel, apart from the fact that she was the mother of his twins, she was the love of his life. .
He mentioned it that way: That woman drives me crazy.
And yes, he is the love of my life ”.
PHOTOS |
Emma Coronel, the wife of 'El Chapo' Guzmán, detained in the United States
Seductive, captivating, conqueror, that was "El Chapo" Guzmán, according to versions of those who knew him closely. His love life was as prolific as his criminal record. It is believed that he married at least three times: first, to Alejandrina Salazar Hernández. His second wife was Griselda López Pérez. The most recent: Emma Coronel Aispuro, born in California, although she also has Mexican nationality. Coronel is the niece of Ignacio “Nacho” Coronel, Guzmán's former partner and leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, killed during a security operation in Mexico in 2010. As a result of Guzmán's multiple love affairs, he is estimated to have 12 to 13 children . Among them, the twins he had with Emma Coronel. The girls were born in August 2011 in Los Angeles. “Guzmán greatly reveres motherhood.He greatly reveres his children, the mother of his children. He takes great care of his own mother. In fact, he also protects the women in his family, ”Mexican journalist expert in security María Idalia Gómez told CNN.
Did Emma Coronel have any role within the Sinaloa Cartel organization?
The story of Emma Coronel beyond 'Chapo' Guzmán 2:11
Even before her guilty plea, there was talk of a possible participation of Coronel in the Cartel led by her husband.
“There are thus the testimonies that already speak that Emma Coronel would be a member and would be a participant.
I believe that there are not enough documents yet - nor the testimonies - to put it that way, ”Gómez told CNN in 2019.
Although one of the communications presented during the Guzmán trial rekindled suspicions against Coronel, it was a conversation between Emma, her father, Inés Coronel, and "El Chapo" Guzmán.
Emma tells the boss: "I already ate, here is my dad who is going there, to work," to which Joaquín responds: "Pass it on, love."
Emma responds “ok” and that's when Guzmán tells her father-in-law: “Don't use radios, use pure
black
because that's why it falls, through the spokes, pure
black
.
If not, or send a kilo, you will drop everything ", referring to the mobile communication devices that they used in an encrypted way to avoid leaks.
The media life of the wife of 'Chapo' Guzmán 2:22
But Coronel was not charged with any crime at the time. At that time, his legal representation dismissed all the allegations. The Colonel herself, in interviews with various media at that time (2018), flatly denied being involved in illicit activities, although later the US Department of Justice charged her with conspiracy to distribute illicit drugs in this country, which pleaded guilty in June 2021.
Other communications presented during Guzmán Loera's trial revealed the role that Coronel had as Guzmán's partner.
One of the multiple escapes of "El Chapo" from justice occurred in February 2012 in a house located in Los Cabos, Mexico.
As he fled, he had no opportunity to take any belongings with him, something that Coronel would later resolve.
"Love, tomorrow you return, so you can buy me love clothes, pants and underwear", wrote via Blackberry "El Chapo" to his partner, who replied: "Anything you need?".
The drug trafficker replied: "The little bag for perfumes, scissors, black mustache paint."
What are the charges facing Emma Coronel in the US?
3:23
Dámaso López, former partner of "El Chapo" Guzmán, declared in the same trial that Coronel was the one who coordinated his escape from the Mexican prison on the Altiplano in July 2015, something that until today has not been proven. On February 12, 2019, Guzmán was convicted of 10 crimes of drug trafficking, use of firearms and money laundering. "I think at some point someone tried to give her a napkin, but she was not crying and said: No one has died here," Mariel Colón, Coronel's legal representative, told CNN. For some that spoke of his mettle and personality.
On July 17, 2019, an American judge sentenced "Chapo" Guzmán to life imprisonment plus 30 years in prison.
It was the last time Coronel could physically see her husband.
A year and 7 months later she was arrested and now her own court history is about to be written.
"This is a plea agreement, she is happy to take responsibility and move on with her life," said her attorney Jeffrey Lichtman in June 2021 when pleading Colonel Guilty.
And that is why we are here.
Coronel faced charges of conspiracy to distribute 1 kg or more of heroin, 5 kg or more of cocaine, 1,000 kg or more of marijuana, and 500 grams.
or more of methamphetamine, according to the Department of Justice.
Now, Emma Coronel could face a sentence ranging from 10 years to life in prison and a fine of up to US $ 10 million.
Emma Coronel
