Queens of the drugs trade
Arrests expose how women are playing prominent roles in Latin American drug cartels
Emma Coronel Aispuro was known as “La Reinita” or “The Little Queen” to those in the Mexican underworld, famous on social media for flaunting her narco-funded lifestyle.
But the former beauty queen turned fashion designer famous for being the wife of Mexican drugs lord, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzma´n, was more than an accessory. Earlier this year, she was arrested in Washington DC on drug trafficking charges. She is due to be sentenced this week.
Her hearing comes after several recent court cases that have exposed how women are playing prominent roles in Latin American drug cartels.
Coronel, 31, met El Chapo, currently serving life in a maximum security jail in Colorado, in Mexico when she was 17, marrying soon after.
At her husband’s trial in 2019, Coronel became known for wearing designer clothing and bags. But it has since been revealed she carved out an unusual role in the Sinaloa cartel, helping to control access to her husband.
“Female participation in organised crime is not an exception,” says Cecilia Farfa´n-me´ndez, a scholar at the University of California in San Diego.
“In fact, it can be quite advantageous for criminal groups who benefit from the fact that law enforcement and the media rarely think of women as high-ranking members with decision-making power.”
A day after Coronel’s first court appearance two months ago, Jessica Oseguera, the 34-year-old daughter of El Chapo’s rival cartel boss, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, was sentenced to two and a half years for helping her father and his cartel launder money.
Last month, a Chicago court
Female participation in organised crime is not an exception. Cecilia Farfa´n-me´ndez
sentenced Guadalupe Ferna´ndez Valencia, known as “la Patrona” or “the Boss”, to ten years.
She worked for years as the righthand woman of El Chapo’s son, moving tons of drugs to the United States. In July, Luz Irene Fajardo Campos was sentenced to 22 years in prison. Also known as “the Boss”, she sourced cocaine in Colombia and trafficked it through Mexico to the US.
Prof Arlene Tickner, the author of a study on women and organised crime, said: “In the rare instances in which women exercise leadership within criminal structures, this is usually the result of sharing sentimental or family ties with male leaders.”
Women in cartels also commit violence. In February, Colombian police captured Yarenis Isabel Sa´nchez A´lvarez, a 24-year-old contract killer for Colombia’s biggest drugs gang.
Coronel will be sentenced in Washington DC on Wednesday(local time). — Telegraph Group Ltd