The wife of the Mexican drug lord, Joaquin Guzman Loera, otherwise known as “El Chapo” was arrested on Monday for her alleged role in her husband’s drug trafficking organization, the Sinaloa Cartel, according to a statement from the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Emma Coronel Aispuro, 31 was arrested at Dulles International Airport on charges relating to participating in the illegal distribution and importation of drugs into the United States and for her involvement in assisting in her husband’s escape from prison, according to the DOJ statement.
Wife of “El Chapo” Arrested on International Drug Trafficking Chargeshttps://t.co/y0YPNIe4ib
— Justice Department (@TheJusticeDept) February 22, 2021
Coronel Aispuro reportedly conspired to illegally distribute and import one kilogram or more of heroin, five kilograms or more of cocaine, one thousand kilograms or more of marijuana, and five hundred grams or more of methamphetamines into the U.S., according to the DOJ statement.
She was also reportedly involved with her husband’s Jul. 2015 escape from Altiplano prison in Almoloya de Juarez, Mexico in which El Chapo ended up escaping through a tunnel in the shower of his prison cell, The New York Times reported.
She allegedly tried helping her husband escape prison a second time before he was extradited to the U.S. in Jan. 2017, according to the DOJ statement.
El Chapo was sentenced to life in prison in July 2019 for his involvement as the leader of his notorious drug cartel. (RELATED: El Chapo Found Guilty Of Drug Trafficking After Several Years On The Run)
Coronel Aispuro is set to appear in a video conference before a federal court in the District of Columbia on Tuesday, according to the DOJ statement.
As of Tuesday, Coronel Aispuro is being held at a jail in Alexandria, Virginia, though her lawyers are expected to try to get her out on bail, according to Reuters.
If she is found to be guilty, she could be sentenced to life in prison, in addition to being fined up to $10 million, according to Reuters.