The wife of the former Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman has been sentenced to three years in prison over charges related to her husband's drug business. Emma Coronel Aispuro pleaded guilty to the charges.
Apart from the prison sentence, Coronel will also be serving four years of supervised release. She will also need to forfeit around $1.5 million of cash believed to have been used in drug trafficking and money laundering schemes.
The sentencing of the wife of one of the most powerful drug traffickers in the world was handed by U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras on Tuesday.
Before she was handed her sentence, Coronel addressed the court and expressed great regret for her connection with Guzman and the Sinaloa Cartel. She also expressed remorse for any harm she may have caused through her involvement with the cartel.
Coronel admitted to conspiring to distribute heroin, cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamine for importation into the United States and conspiring to launder monetary instruments and violate the Kingpin Act by engaging in transactions and dealings in the property of her husband.
She agreed that the court would find it impossible to overlook the fact that she is Guzman's wife. She stated that she took full responsibility and pleaded with the judge to consider her 9-year-old twins, who will be forced to grow up without parents.
Prosecutors initially requested a 48-month prison sentence, which was nine months less than the sentence guideline minimum, five years of supervised release, and a $1.5 million forfeiture. Despite the gravity of her crimes, federal prosecutor Anthony Nardozzi stated in court that Coronel had only played a little part in the cartel's operations and was just a gear in a huge wheel of the criminal organization.
Coronel's lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman, asked the judge to take into account the danger she may face as a result of reports alleging that she was cooperating with the U.S. government against other cartel members. Lichtman said that Coronel would never be able to return to Mexico because she would become a cartel target.
The court deviated from the prosecution's proposal because the judge also took into account the fact that Coronel met Guzman while she was just 17 years old and married him when she was 18.
Coronel was not handcuffed while she was in court. She wore a face mask and no makeup, in contrast to her husband's court appearances. Coronel, a dual US-Mexican citizen, was arrested at Dulles International Airport in February.
