Emma Coronel has shared new details about how she met former Sinaloa Cartel leader Joaquin El Chapo Guzman when she was 17 years old at a dance in Durango, Mexico.
Speaking during a live stream with content creators Willito and Lonche, who are based in Los Mochis, the former beauty queen described her initial encounter with Guzman and provided details about their subsequent private wedding ceremony.
Coronel recalled that she was accompanied by a friend when she first encountered Guzman at a party in a rural community near La Angostura, Durango. She said the two locked eyes across the room during the event before Guzman walked over to invite her to dance.
At the time of their initial meeting, Coronel explained that she did not pay attention to news reports and was completely unaware of Guzman's identity or his criminal notoriety.
Private wedding and family life
The relationship continued after their initial meeting, leading to their marriage approximately one year later in La Angostura. Coronel described the ceremony as a small, private gathering for close family members held at her home.
She rejected previous reports describing an ostentatious wedding complete with musical bands and attendance by other prominent figures in organized crime, reiterating that the celebration was modest and strictly private.
Five years after their marriage, the couple welcomed twin daughters, Emali Guadalupe and Maria Joaquina, according to Coronel. The interview formed part of her latest public appearance on social media, where she discussed various aspects of her personal life and relationship with Guzman.
Cartel background and legal history
Guzman, who headed the Sinaloa Cartel for decades, was long one of Mexico's most prominent drug trafficking figures. After escaping twice from Mexican prisons, he was extradited to the United States in 2017 and sentenced to life imprisonment in a maximum security federal facility.
Coronel, a former regional beauty pageant contestant, was also arrested by U.S. federal authorities in 2021 on conspiracy and money laundering charges related to her husband's drug empire. Following her release from federal custody, she has gradually re-entered public life through occasional media appearances and social media live streams.
