{{Short description|American born, Mexican former teenage beauty queen (born 1989)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2019}} {{family name hatnote|Coronel|Aispuro|lang=Spanish}} {{infobox person | name = Emma Coronel Aispuro | image = | caption = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1989|7|2}} | birth_place = San Francisco, California, U.S. | occupation = Beauty pageant contestant | spouse = {{marriage|Joaquin Guzman Loera|July 2, 2007}} | children = 2 | parents = Inés Coronel Barreras | relatives = Ignacio Coronel Villarreal }} '''Emma Modesta Coronel Aispuro'''<ref name="birth">{{cite news|url= https://www.cnn.com/2011/09/28/us/cartel-kingpin-twins/index.html|title=Mexican cartel leader's wife gives birth in U.S., official says|work=CNN|date=September 29, 2011 |last1=Frieden |first1=Terry |last2=Martinez |first2=Michael |access-date=3 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929133251/http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/28/us/cartel-kingpin-twins/index.html |archive-date=29 Sep 2011}}</ref> ({{IPA|es|ˈema moˈðesta koɾoˈnel ajsˈpuɾo|lang}}; born July 2, 1989) is an American former teenage beauty queen. She is the wife of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, considered Mexico's most-wanted drug lord until he was imprisoned for life. <!-- We are aware that the wedding may not have happened per Proceso's interview with Zambada. Since sources generally cite her as his wife, we have to recognize that as such. Zambada's interview is a footnote in the body paragraphs. --> In February 2021, she was arrested in the United States on charges of conspiracy to unlawfully import and distribute illegal drugs, money laundering, and transacting business with a significant foreign narcotics trafficker designated under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act. Coronel served a three year prison sentence and was released in September 2023.
== Early life == Emma Modesta Coronel was born July 2, 1989,<ref name="birth"/> near San Francisco, California, US,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.latina.com/lifestyle/our-issues/el-chapo-wife-facts#4|title=6 Facts You Didn't Know About El Chapo's Beauty Queen Wife|website=www.latina.com|access-date=April 28, 2016|archive-date=September 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913204313/http://www.latina.com/lifestyle/our-issues/el-chapo-wife-facts#4|url-status=dead}}</ref> to Blanca Estela Aispuro Aispuro and Inés Coronel Barreras, a cattle rancher<ref name="Noroeste2008">{{cite news|title=El día que se casó con Emma |url=http://www.noroeste.com.mx/especiales/mujeresdelchapo/ |newspaper=Noroeste |date=2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140528041148/http://www.noroeste.com.mx/especiales/mujeresdelchapo/ |archive-date=28 May 2014 |lang=es}}</ref> and deputy of Guzmán who was sanctioned by the United States Department of the Treasury under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin designation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/tf1817.aspx|title=Treasury Targets Leading Figures of Sinaloa Cartel|website=www.treasury.gov|access-date=April 28, 2016}}</ref> She grew up in the remote Durango village of La Angostura.<ref name="beauty-queens">{{Cite web|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/02/26/drug-cartel-beauty-queens.html|title=Drug Cartel Beauty Queens Face an Ugly End|last=Daly|first=Michael|date=February 26, 2014|website=The Daily Beast|url-access=subscription|access-date=April 28, 2016}}</ref>
Coronel entered the 2007 Coffee and Guava Festival beauty pageant in Canelas, Durango, Mexico.<ref name="beauty-queens"/> Each contestant was required to host a party in honor of her candidacy; Coronel held hers on Three Kings Day. In this event, Coronel reportedly met Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, who traveled to Canelas to meet her. Both of them reportedly agreed to marry that day.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.proceso.com.mx/365600/cuando-el-chapo-se-caso-con-emma-i|title=Cuando El Chapo se casó con Emma|last=Dávila|first=Patricia|date=February 22, 2014|work=Proceso|language=es}}</ref> Their wedding was held on July 2, 2007 in La Angostura.<ref name="Noroeste2008"/>{{efn|In an interview conducted by the Mexican magazine ''Proceso'' in 2010, Guzmán's associate Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada claimed that Guzmán never married Coronel.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.proceso.com.mx/106967/proceso-en-la-guarida-de-el-mayo-zambada|title=Proceso en la guarida de 'El Mayo' Zambada|last=Scherer García|first=Julio|date=April 3, 2010|work=Proceso|language=es}}</ref>}}
==Arrest, incarceration, plea deal and prison sentence == [[File:FMCCarswelllargeimage.jpg|thumb|Coronel served her sentence at the Federal Medical Center, Carswell.]] Coronel was arrested at Dulles International Airport on February 22, 2021. The Federal Bureau of Investigation's arrest warrant stated their probable cause included evidence of Coronel shuttling messages from Guzman to Sinaloa Cartel associates, assisting Guzman's escape from Federal Social Readaptation Center No. 1 "Altiplano" in 2015 through bribery and, following his recapture, helping coordinate another escape attempt aborted following Guzman's extradition. The affidavit cited a handwritten letter written and signed by Guzman, as well as the statements of two unnamed cooperating witnesses who had worked with Guzman.<ref name=USAvCoronelAffidavit group=UvC>{{Cite Pacer | title = Affidavit Of Special Agent Eric S. Mcguire In Support Of An Application For A Criminal Complaint And Arrest Warrant | plaintiff = United States of America | defendant = Emma Coronel Aispuro | doc-number = 1 | att-number = 1 | date = 17 Feb 2021 | case-division = 1 | case-year = 2021 | case-type = cr | case-sequence = 00255 | case-state = dc | case-district = d | pacer-number = 229360 | access-date = 3 April 2022 | use-pacer = | use-recap = yes | case-title = | recap-number = 229360 | ref = }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url= https://www.newsweek.com/el-chapos-wife-emma-coronel-aispuro-arrested-virginia-drug-trafficking-charges-1571152 |title=El Chapo's Wife, Emma Coronel Aispuro, Arrested in Virginia on Drug Trafficking Charges|date=February 22, 2021|last=Slisco|first=Aliya|work=Newsweek|access-date=February 22, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Agren |first1=David |title=Emma Coronel, wife of El Chapo, arrested on drug trafficking charges |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/22/emma-coronel-arrested-wife-el-chapo-drug-trafficking |work=The Guardian |access-date=23 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210223000605/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/22/emma-coronel-arrested-wife-el-chapo-drug-trafficking |archive-date=Feb 23, 2021 |location=Mexico City, Mexico |language=English |date=Feb 23, 2021}}</ref>
Sources who spoke to ''Vice News'' on the condition of anonymity claimed that Coronel voluntarily surrendered and was seeking a court settlement. A lawyer representing Guzman and Coronel, Jeffrey Lichtman, denied it. The Department of Justice declined to comment, as did a spokesperson for the FBI.<ref>{{Cite web|title=El Chapo's Wife Emma Coronel Turned Herself In|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/el-chapos-wife-emma-coronel-turned-herself-in/|language=en |last1=Hamilton |first1=Keegan |website=Vice News |access-date=3 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211130190315/https://www.vice.com/en/article/y3vv5w/el-chapos-wife-emma-coronel-aispuro-prison-sentence |archive-date=30 November 2021 |date=30 November 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> Coronel's lawyer Mariel Colón denounced her conditions in Alexandria City Jail, saying she spent 22 hours per day in a small cell with nothing to do but read.<ref name="Micaela Varela, 2021, El País">{{Citation |last=Varela |first=Micaela |date=14 May 2021 |title=Emma Coronel: How the 'Kardashian of Sinaloa' went from influencer to prisoner |website=El País |publication-place=Mexico |page=1 |url=https://english.elpais.com/usa/2021-05-14/emma-coronel-how-the-kardashian-of-sinaloa-went-from-influencer-to-prisoner.html |access-date=5 June 2021}}</ref>
On June 10, 2021, the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia and Coronel Aispuro agreed to a plea deal, in which she waived indictment and pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to a felony criminal information with three counts: * Conspiracy to Distribute Heroin, Cocaine, Marijuana and Amphetamines for Unlawful Importation to the United States (21 U.S.C. §§ {{USCSub2|21|959}}, {{USCSub2|21|960}}, {{USCSub2|21|963}}) * Conspiracy to launder Monetary Instruments ({{USC|18|1956}}) * Engaging in Transactions and Dealings in Properties of a Designated Significant Foreign Narcotics Trafficker (21 U.S.C. §§ {{USCSub2|21|1904}} {{USCSub2|21|1906}})<ref name=USAvCoronelCriminalInformation group=UvC>{{Cite Pacer | title = INFORMATION as to EMMA CORONEL AISPURO (1) count(s) 1, 2, 3. | plaintiff = United States of America | defendant = Emma Coronel Aispuro | doc-number = 20 | date = 26 March 2021 | case-division = 1 | case-year = 2021 | case-type = cr | case-sequence = 00255 | case-state = dc | case-district = d | pacer-number = 229360 | access-date = 3 April 2022 | use-pacer = | use-recap = yes | case-title = | recap-number = 229360 | ref = }}</ref><ref name=USAvCoronelPleaAgreement group=UvC>{{Cite Pacer | title = PLEA AGREEMENT as to EMMA CORONEL AISPURO | plaintiff = United States of America | defendant = Emma Coronel Aispuro | doc-number = 26 | date = 10 June 2021 | case-division = 1 | case-year = 2021 | case-type = cr | case-sequence = 00255 | case-state = dc | case-district = d | pacer-number = 229360 | access-date = 3 April 2022 | use-pacer = | use-recap = yes | case-title = | recap-number = 229360 | ref = }}</ref><ref name=USAvCoronelStatementofFacts group=UvC>{{Cite Pacer | title = Statement of Facts in Support of Plea Agreement | plaintiff = United States of America | defendant = Emma Coronel Aispuro | doc-number = 27 | date = 10 June 2021 | case-division = 1 | case-year = 2021 | case-type = cr | case-sequence = 00255 | case-state = dc | case-district = d | pacer-number = 229360 | access-date = 3 April 2022 | use-pacer = | use-recap = yes | case-title = | recap-number = 229360 | ref = }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.insider.com/el-chapo-wife-emma-coronel-aispuro-pleads-guilty-2021-6|title=The wife of 'El Chapo,' Emma Coronel Aispuro, pleaded guilty to helping run his multi-billion dollar drug empire|first=Michelle|last=Mark|website=Insider}}</ref>
On November 30, 2021, Judge Rudolph Contreras of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia sentenced Coronel to three years in prison, followed by four years of supervised release.<ref name=USAvCoronelAffidavit group=UvC></ref><ref name=USAvCoronelJudgment group=UvC>{{Cite Pacer | title = Judgment | plaintiff = United States of America | defendant = Emma Coronel Aispuro | doc-number = 45 | date = 2 December 2021 | case-division = 1 | case-year = 2021 | case-type = cr | case-sequence = 00255 | case-state = dc | case-district = d | pacer-number = 229360 | access-date = 3 April 2022 | use-pacer = | use-recap = yes | case-title = | recap-number = 229360 | ref = }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/wife-mexican-drug-lord-el-chapo-face-sentencing-us-court-2021-11-30/|title=U.S. judge sentences wife of Mexican drug lord 'El Chapo' to three years in prison|first=Sarah N.|last=Lynch|date=November 30, 2021|via=www.reuters.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/el-chapos-wife-emma-coronel-aispuro-prison-sentence/|title=El Chapo's Wife Emma Coronel Was Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison |last1=Hamilton |first1=Keegan |website=Vice News |date=November 30, 2021 |access-date=3 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211130190315/https://www.vice.com/en/article/y3vv5w/el-chapos-wife-emma-coronel-aispuro-prison-sentence |archive-date=30 November 2021|url-status=live}}</ref> The prison sentence was later reduced to 31 months.<ref name="Ardila"/> Judge Contreras did not sentence Coronel to the four years requested by prosecutors, noting that she was a teenager when she married Guzman and admitted her guilt upon capture.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://adnamerica.com/en/mexico/emma-coronel-wife-el-chapo-guzman-sentenced-three-years-prison|title=Emma Coronel, wife of 'El Chapo' Guzmán, sentenced to three years in prison|first=Jorge|last=Montiel|website=ADN America}}</ref> She served her sentence in Federal Medical Center, Carswell<ref>{{cite web |last1=Tallet |first1=Olivia P. |title=El Chapo's wife Emma Coronel Aispuro transferred to Texas prison |url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/crime/article/El-Chapo-s-wife-Emma-Coronel-Aispuro-16938489.php |website=houstonchronicle.com |publisher=Houston Chronicle |access-date=3 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220222203813/https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/crime/article/El-Chapo-s-wife-Emma-Coronel-Aispuro-16938489.php |archive-date=22 Feb 2022 |date=22 Feb 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> and was released on September 13, 2023.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/13/us/emma-coronel-aispuro-prison-release-el-chapo/index.html|title=El Chapo's wife has been released from a US prison|author1=Norma Galeana|author2=Cheri Mossburg|work=CNN|date=September 13, 2023}}</ref><ref name="Ardila">{{cite news|url=https://aldianews.com/en/culture/heritage-and-history/reduced-sentence|title='El Chapo' Guzman's wife gets sentence reduced|author=Erika Ardila|date=February 10, 2022|work=Al Día}}</ref>
== Personal life == In the summer of 2011, Coronel traveled to Lancaster, California, to give birth to twin girls at Antelope Valley Hospital. Guzmán's name was left off the children's birth certificates because the U.S. Department of State was offering a bounty of five million dollars for his capture.<ref name="beauty-queens" />
In a 2016 Telemundo interview conducted by investigative reporter Anabel Hernández, Coronel argued that the life of her husband was in danger and begged for justice on his behalf.<ref name="Shibboleth">{{Cite news|title=The glamorous wife of El Chapo' explains why you should feel sorry for the drug lord |last=Larimer |first=Sarah |newspaper=Washington Post |date=22 February 2016 |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/02/22/the-glamorous-wife-of-el-chapo-explains-why-you-should-feel-sorry-for-the-drug-lord/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-fg-el-chapo-wife-20160221-story.html|title=Murder, torture, drugs: Cartel kingpin's wife says that's not the 'El Chapo' she knows|date=February 21, 2016|last=Hernández|first=Anabel|work=The Los Angeles Times|access-date=April 22, 2017}}</ref> In 2019 she attended the New York trial of El Chapo with her children.<ref name="Micaela Varela, 2021, El País" /> She attended the courtroom almost every day of the trial, in what the press described as solidarity with her husband.<ref name="Tara McKelvy, 2021, BBC">{{Citation |last= |first= |date=2 June 2021 |title=Emma Coronel Aispuro: The rise and fall of a drug kingpin's wife |publisher=BBC |publication-place=Britain |page=1 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-57285786 |access-date=5 June 2021}}</ref> She was interviewed in the reality show ''Cartel Crew'' on VH1.<ref name="Micaela Varela, 2021, El País" />
== See also == * Mexican drug war
==Footnotes== {{notelist}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
===References: ''United States v. Coronel Aispuro''=== {{reflist|group=UvC}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aispuro, Emma Coronel}} Category:1989 births Category:Living people Category:American people of Mexican descent Category:21st-century American beauty pageant contestants Category:American drug traffickers Category:American female gangsters Category:American gangsters Emma Emma Category:Mexican female gangsters Category:Mexican gangsters Category:Sinaloa Cartel traffickers Category:Female drug traffickers Category:Female prisoners and detainees Category:21st-century prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government