Emma Coronel Aispuro, the wife of jailed Mexican drug lord Joaquin ‘El Chapo‘ Guzman yesterday pleaded guilty to helping her husband smuggle narcotics into the United States.
The 31-year-old former beauty queen now faces up to life in prison.
Coronel surprisingly pleaded guilty to all three counts against her, including drug trafficking and money laundering, during a court appearance in Washington.
She answered ‘guilty’ three times when the judge asked her for her plea.
Africa Today News, New York understands that Coronel will be sentenced on September 15.
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Drug trafficking carries a life term in jail and she faces a minimum of 15 years. The admissions of guilt may help reduce her sentence, though.
US authorities arrested her in February at Dulles International Airport outside of Washington on suspicion of ‘aiding and abetting’ her husband’s drug smuggling business.
Coronel was accused of conspiracy to traffic vast amounts of cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, and marijuana for importation into the United States.
Guzman was the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, one of Mexico’s most notorious drug trafficking groups.
He ran an operation that delivered hundreds of tons of narcotics into the United States and was behind multiple murders of those who crossed him, according to court filings.
The Sinaloa cartel imported more than 495 tons of cocaine, 99 tons of heroin, 49 tons of methamphetamine, and 99 tons of marijuana over 25 years, according to the US Justice Department.
Guzman was extradited to the United States in 2017 to stand trial and was convicted and sentenced to life in prison two years later.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK