US arrests wife of drug kingpin 'El Chapo' on international drug trafficking charges

The wife of drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmán Loera was arrested on February 22 in Virginia on charges related to her alleged involvement in international drug trafficking, the US Justice Department said. According to a press release, Emma Coronel Aispuro was apprehended at Dulles International Airport. The 31-year-old is facing charges of conspiracy to distribute one kilogram or more heroin, five kilograms or more of cocaine, 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana and 500 grams or more of methamphetamines for unlawful importation into the country. She is also accused of helping her husband escape prison in Mexico via a secret tunnel in 2015. 

According to a criminal complaint, “there is probable cause to believe that, from at least in or about 2014 and at least on or about January 19, 2017, Coronel did knowingly, intentionally, and willfully conspired with Guzmán and others to distribute drugs”. 

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The complaint further read that the FBI believes she took messages from El Chapo to his lieutenants, associates and four sons before and while the Mexican drug lord was in prison. It is worth noting that Coronel is a dual citizen of the US and Mexico and she is expected to make her initial appearance on Tuesday in US District Court in Washington, DC, via video conference. 

According to CNN, the prosecutors have said that Coronel conspired with others to assist her husband in his July 11, 2015, escape from a prison in Mexico. After El Chapo was rearrested in January 2016, his wife is alleged to have engaged in planning yet another prison escape before he was extradited to the United States in January 2017. El Chapo, who is believed to have headed a global narcotics empire, was convicted after a jury trial in 2019, and sentenced to life plus 30 years in federal prison. 

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El Chapo’s escape from prison 

El Chapo is the former leader of Mexico’s powerful Sinaloa drug cartel. He was convicted of crimes spanning a quarter of a century, including trafficking hundreds of tons of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines and marijuana. During his reign, his cartel’s empire extended across the globe, from America to Europe and Asia. The Mexican drug lord has managed to break out of prison twice. 

Back in 2015, El Chapo reportedly escaped via a 1.5km tunnel that opened in his cell’s shower. As per reports, he zoomed out by hopping on a modified motorcycle mounted on rails. It was six months later, in January 2016, that the Mexican marines again managed to capture him. He was then extradited to the United States a year later, which resulted in the ending of the decades-long chase. 

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