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Emma Coronel: controversy and life of Chapo Guzmán's partner

Emma Coronel: controversy and life of Chapo Guzmán's partner

(CNN Spanish) -- Joaquín "el Chapo" Guzmán had it all: money, power and women. One of them was Emma Coronel Aispuro, who is, according to people very close to her, 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 prison 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 charges including conspiracy to distribute heroin, cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamine for importation into the US, conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, and participation in transactions and dealings with 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, since 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 plea hearing was the first major federal court hearing in Washington where members of the press were received in person. Coronel, wearing a white face mask, answered questions from US District Judge Rudolph Contreras through a Spanish interpreter while she wore a green prison uniform.

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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 her daughters were present," says Yilber Vega, CNN correspondent in New York.

His marriage was, for many, bulletproof and also for other women. Emma Coronel Aispuro was 17 years old when she was crowned queen of the Coffee and Guava Fair in the northern Mexican state of Durango. There she met Guzmán Loera. It was love at first sight, according to versions of those who were there. Guzmán was determined that she be his queen. Mónica Cano, a Mexican psychologist and criminologist, who for several months interviewed Guzmán in prison to develop his criminological profile, told CNN: "Emma Coronel, apart from the fact that she was the mother of her twins, she was the love of her life. . He mentioned it like this: That woman drives me crazy. And yes, she is the love of my life.”

Seductive, captivating, conquering, that was "El Chapo" Guzmán, according to the versions of those who knew him closely. His love life was as prolific as his criminal history. It is believed that he married at least three times: first, with 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, who died during a security operation in Mexico in 2010. As a result of Guzmán's multiple love relationships, it is estimated that he has 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 venerates motherhood. He greatly venerates his children, the mother of his children. He takes great care of his own mother. In fact, he also protects the women of his family, ”Mexican journalist and security expert María Idalia Gómez told CNN.

Did Emma Coronel have any function within the organization of the Sinaloa Cartel?

Until before her guilty plea, there was talk of a possible participation of Coronel in the Cartel led by her husband.

“There are testimonies that already speak of Emma Coronel being a member and participating. I think there are not enough documents yet - or testimonies - to say it that way," Gómez told CNN in 2019.

Although one of the communications presented during the trial against Guzmán revived suspicions against Coronel, it was a conversation between Emma, ​​her father, Inés Coronel, and "El Chapo" Guzmán. Emma tells the capo: "I've already eaten, here's my dad on his way there to work", to which Joaquín replies: "Pass it to me, love". Emma replies “ok” and that is when Guzmán comments to his mother-in-law: “Don't use spokes, use pure black because that's why it falls off, because of the spokes, pure black. If not, don't even send a kilo, everything will drop", referring to the mobile communication devices that they used in an encrypted way to avoid leaks.

But Coronel was not charged with any crime at the time. At that time, her legal representation dismissed all the accusations. The Colonel herself, in interviews given to various media in those days (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, of which he 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 "El Chapo's" multiple escapes from justice occurred in February 2012 in a house located in Los Cabos, Mexico. As he fled, he did not have the opportunity to take any belongings with him, something that the Colonel would later resolve. "My love, come back tomorrow, so you can buy me some clothes, my love, pants and underwear," she wrote to her partner via Blackberry "El Chapo," who replied: "Anything you need?" The drug trafficker replied: "The little suitcase for the perfumes, scissors, black mustache paint."

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 Altiplano prison in July 2015, something that has not been proven until today. On February 12, 2019, Guzmán was found guilty of 10 counts of drug trafficking, use of firearms, and money laundering. "I think at some point someone tried to give her a napkin, but she wasn't crying and she said: Nobody has died here," Mariel Colón, Coronel's legal representative, told CNN. For some that spoke of her mettle and personality.

On July 17, 2019, a US judge sentenced "Chapo" Guzmán to life in prison plus 30 years in prison. It was the last time Colonel was able to physically see her husband. A year and 7 months later she was arrested and now her own judicial history is about to be written.

"This is a plea deal, she's happy to take responsibility and get on with her life," her attorney Jeffrey Lichtman said in June 2021 when pleading guilty to the colonel. "And that's why we're here."

Coronel was facing charges of conspiracy to distribute one kg or more of heroin, 5 kg or more of cocaine, 1,000 kg or more of marijuana and 500 gr. or more of methamphetamine, according to the Justice Department.

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 Colonel

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