Señora Champo's big makeover
Revamping amid trial
As reporters from around the world descended on Brooklyn federal court last week for the opening of El Chapo’s drug-trafficking trial, his wife took to social media and used her appearances outside the courthouse to polish her image.
Although Emma Coronel Aispuro’s Instagram account still featured the odd photo of the busty brunette posing in a bikini, recently added images showed the 29-yearold mother of twin girls volunteering at a Mexican children’s hospital, handing out packages of disposal diapers and toys to needy kids.
“I do this for the love of humanity, without any profit motive,” a caption reads in Spanish, along with photos of the Kim Kardashian lookalike wearing a surgical mask, bluejeans and sneakers. “I do this for love of my fellow man, for those who need help the most.”
Recent posts to the Instagram account, with nearly 500,000 followers, depict Coronel Aispuro as a minor celebrity — the loyal, suffering wife of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera, 61.
A series of photos posted Wednesday shows her on the sidewalk outside the courthouse dressed in a sober black pantsuit, overcoat and stilettos, while a short video clip uploaded Tuesday sees her taking time to pose for a selfie with a stranger.
“It doesn’t matter what happens,” read the caption with the photo series. “I promised to always be with you and here I am. I will love you for the rest of my life.”
In press photos, Coronel Aispuro assumes a corporate pose, wearing large glasses and a buttoned-up white blouse under the black suit.
The images are a far cry from past social media posts linked to Coronel Aispuro.
The former teen beauty queen has been seen in previous photos posing at an elaborate Barbie-themed birthday party for her daughters or flaunting her curves in a skimpy bikini with the caption, “To know who you are, you have to know where you’re from and then where you’re going.”
Since Guzman’s extradition to the US in January 2017, he has been held in a Manhattan lockup and barred from seeing his wife. A recent request from one of his lawyers to allow the couple to embrace before the trial got under way was rejected by the presiding judge, Brian Cogan.
Guzman faces life behind bars, accused of masterminding a sprawling, multibillion-dollar drug empire in Mexico’s northwestern state of Sinaloa and ordering the killing of rivals.
Despite his arrest and extradition, the Mexican government has yet to seize the cartel kingpin’s assets, allowing his family to live off hundreds of millions of dollars in drug-trade profits, according to a federal law enforcement source.