On 28/11, Emma, 36, shared details of her nearly two-decade marriage to notorious Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman on Oxygen's program "Married to El Chapo: Emma Coronel Speaks".

"To this day, I still wonder what would have happened if I had married someone else", she said.

Though born in California, Emma grew up on a ranch in Mexico's Durango state. She lived with her parents and three siblings in a home without electricity, running water, or a tivi, completely isolated from the outside world. To support their families, many farmers in the area turned to growing marijuana.

Emma first met El Chapo at 17 while campaigning for votes for an upcoming beauty pageant at a local party.

"I heard there was an important person at the party, and then they told me that person wanted to dance with me", Emma recalled. El Chapo, 32 years her senior, then appeared and introduced himself: "My name is Joaquin". At the time, El Chapo was a wanted man following a 1993 shooting at Guadalajara airport that killed Cardinal Juan Jesus Posadas Ocampo.

"I don't know if I recognized his name. Every time I say that, people always ask 'How could you not know? How could you not know when he was on tivi?', but I didn't have a tivi", Emma admitted.

After their meeting, Emma won the beauty pageant. Months later, right after her 18th birthday in 2007, she and El Chapo had a simple wedding at her family's ranch. However, according to Emma, it was a symbolic marriage, not a legally recognized relationship.

Before Emma, the drug lord had two previous wives and numerous mistresses after marrying her.

Emma Coronel Aispuro became a beauty queen at a local festival after catching El Chapo's eye. Photo: Rollingstone

Emma Coronel Aispuro became a beauty queen at a local festival after catching El Chapo's eye. Photo: Rollingstone

Initially, El Chapo often hid in the mountains to evade authorities. Emma did not follow her husband but stayed in her own home in Culiacan city. She could move freely because no one recognized her face.

Their relationship was primarily maintained through messages. Occasionally, Emma would fly secretly to the mountains to visit her new husband, watch movies together, and make traditional Mexican meat rolls for El Chapo. "To me, that was a normal life", she said.

Emma stated that El Chapo worked hard to nurture their relationship, often complimenting her as "the most beautiful woman in the world", which captivated her.

According to Emma, El Chapo kept his cartel operations separate from her, ensuring she did not witness violence. They never discussed his work, and she never inquired about or observed his activities.

In 2011, while El Chapo was still in hiding, Emma gave birth to twin daughters in California. This news quickly made international headlines, placing Emma and her children in greater danger. This forced her to question her decision to marry the notorious outlaw.

"If I hadn't married him, my father and siblings probably would never have gone to prison", Emma said. According to her, El Chapo's infamous past may have caused the government to arrest her father and brother for drug trafficking, each receiving a 10-year sentence.

As drug-related violence peaked in the region, pressure to find El Chapo mounted on law enforcement. Despite the threat of capture, the drug lord secretly arranged a meeting with his wife and two daughters in 2014 at the Miramar hotel in Mazatlan.

"We were all surprised to see him lingering in Mazatlan. We were truly astonished that such a shrewd person would do something so foolish. That somewhat reinforced the hypothesis that Emma was indeed his weakness", said former US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent Carl Pike.

The couple was sleeping when police, armed with rifles, broke through the door at 4h. "I think that was the moment I felt the most scared because my children were in the next room. I feared death", Emma recounted.

Emma Coronel Aispuro (center) attended court to support her husband, December 2018. Photo: Nytimes

Emma Coronel Aispuro (center) attended court to support her husband, December 2018. Photo: Nytimes

El Chapo was arrested and taken to El Antiplano Prison, one of Mexico's highest-security facilities. Emma moved nearby and visited her husband regularly.

In July 2015, El Chapo carried out a daring escape, fleeing through a hole dug in his bathroom floor that led to an underground ventilation tunnel, where a moto awaited him. In the program, Emma declined to discuss her role, if any, in the escape.

However, the drug lord's freedom did not last long. According to the US Department of Justice, El Chapo was rearrested in January 2016 and extradited to the US to face federal charges including drug trafficking, conspiracy to commit murder, using weapons to commit drug crimes, and engaging in a money laundering conspiracy.

Emma was present at El Chapo's trial in 2019, wanting to provide "moral support" for her husband. The couple often exchanged loving glances, sometimes even being reprimanded by the judge for lack of focus in the courtroom.

In court, prosecutors presented evidence that El Chapo had directed assassins to "kidnap, torture, and massacre members of rival drug organizations, sometimes committing violence himself". The drug lord was convicted on 10 federal counts and sentenced to life imprisonment plus 30 years.

Emma seemingly distanced herself from the accusations of her husband's crimes. "I have good memories of him, so I cannot say Joaquin is a bad person. I cannot speak about something I have never seen", Emma shared in the program.

Emma Coronel Aispuro modeling a wedding dress at Milan Fashion Week 2024. Photo: Nytimes

Emma Coronel Aispuro modeling a wedding dress at Milan Fashion Week 2024. Photo: Nytimes

In 2021, Emma also faced legal trouble after federal prosecutors accused her of criminal conduct, including helping her husband escape from prison. Emma pleaded guilty to money laundering and drug trafficking in June 2021 and was sentenced to 36 months in prison.

The judge did not sentence Emma to 4 years as proposed by prosecutors, considering that she was a teenager when she married El Chapo and had admitted her guilt upon arrest.

In September 2023, Emma was released but placed on 4 years of supervised release and ordered to pay USD 1,5 million in restitution.

The wife of the notorious drug lord shared that she has taken on various endeavors since her release to support her two children. She is currently developing her own brand and working as a model, having walked in Milan Fashion Week.

It remains unclear if Emma is still involved with the Sinaloa cartel, but she stated her desire to "move forward" and offered apologies to those affected by the cartel's violence.

Tue Anh (according to Oxygen, Latin Times)