The wife of notorious drug trafficker Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was sentenced to three years in prison for helping to run the Sinaloa Cartel.
U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras sentenced Emma Coronel Aispuro, 32, to three years in prison followed by four years supervised release and fined her $1.5 million as part of her plea deal with federal prosecutors. Coronel pleaded guilty to conspiracy and money laundering charges, but prosecutors sought a four-year sentence and fine due to her clean record and show of remorse.
CHINESE NATIONALS PLEAD GUILTY IN MONEY LAUNDERING SCHEME CONNECTED TO EL CHAPO’S CARTEL
“We’re pleased with the result, and we’re pleased with the court recognizing her very minimal role,” said Jeffrey Lichtman, Coronel’s lawyer.
At the Tuesday sentencing hearing, she asked the judge to show her mercy.
“With all due respect, I address you today to express my true regret for any and all harm that I may have done, and I ask that you and all the citizens of this country forgive me,” she said through an interpreter.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Coronel pleaded guilty in June to three counts of conspiracy to sell illegal drugs — including thousands of kilos of marijuana, meth, coke, and heroin — and money laundering. She was arrested in February at Dulles Airport near Washington, D.C.
Coronel is a U.S.-born former beauty queen who married her infamous drug lord husband on her 18th birthday.
Guzman is currently serving a life sentence in a Colorado federal prison after being found guilty on a number of charges. Coronel helped orchestrate his escape from a Mexican prison in 2015. He was recaptured the following year.
