Wife of 'Mexico Drug Lord' and Former Beauty Queen Arrested at US Airport on Drug Trafficking Charges

Drug Trafficking and Assisting Husband's Escape Charges
Husband Sentenced to Life Imprisonment and Incarcerated

Emma Coronel Aispuro, wife of the Mexican 'drug kingpin,' arrested in the United States on drug trafficking charges.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-ju] The wife of the world-renowned drug lord 'El Chapo,' Joaqu?n Guzm?n (64), has been arrested in the United States on drug trafficking charges.

According to the New York Times and others on the 22nd (local time), the U.S. Department of Justice arrested Emma Coronel Aispuro (31), El Chapo's wife who is 32 years his junior, at Washington Dulles International Airport.

Coronel is accused of conspiring to import cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine into the United States.

Coronel was closely involved in her husband's crimes. In addition to drug trafficking charges, Coronel is also accused of assisting Guzm?n in July 2015 to escape from Mexico's high-security Altiplano prison by digging a tunnel about one mile away.

The U.S. Department of Justice stated, "After Guzm?n was re-arrested in Mexico in January 2016, his wife is believed to have planned to free him again in January of the following year."

Guzm?n, who failed in his second escape attempt, was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2019. During the trial, Coronel appeared daily in court for interviews, appealing that "Guzm?n is a compassionate and humble person" and that "the media exaggerated."

Joaqu?n Guzm?n is the head of the world's largest drug cartel. It is known that 65% of the drugs distributed in the United States passed through Guzm?n's hands. The nickname "El Chapo," meaning "shorty," was given because Guzm?n is only 165 cm tall.

Coronel, a former regional beauty pageant model, was born in the United States and raised in Mexico. In 2007, at age 17, she married Guzm?n, who was 32 years her senior, becoming his third wife. The couple has twin daughters.

Coronel is scheduled to appear via video at the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. on the 23rd.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.