The wife of Mexican drug boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman has been sentenced to three years in prison and four years of supervised release.
Emma Coronel Aispuro pleaded guilty earlier this year to assisting her husband’s cartel, the Sinaloa cartel, in its drug distribution process while her husband was imprisoned, according to court documents.
“The defendant’s actual role was a minimal one,” prosecutor Anthony Nardozzi said.
“The defendant acted primarily in support of her husband. The defendant acted upon his orders, which, in turn, furthered the interests of the criminal cartel. The defendant was not an organizer, leader, boss or other type of manager. Rather, she was a cog in a very large wheel of a criminal organization.”
Because Coronel, a 32-year-old former beauty queen, has no prior criminal convictions, she was able to avoid a minimum 10-year sentence for her crimes.
The three-year sentencing is a year less than the federal government’s recommendation of four years, which the defense called “inappropriate” during Tuesday’s sentencing hearing.
