For a long time, Emma Coronel remained silent despite suspicions that she was a collaborator in the illicit movements of drug trafficker Joaquín Guzmán Loera, “El Chapo.”
However, the production “Married to El Chapo: Emma Coronel Speaks” presents, for the first time, a direct version in his own voice, breaking with years of speculation, rumors, other people’s narratives and even asking for forgiveness from all those affected by drug trafficking in Mexico and the United States.
In this production, made by the Oxygen platform, Coronel speaks openly and last Friday night, he paralyzed American Hispanic television where He revealed personal details of his relationship with Joaquín Guzmán Loera, his experience during the years of persecution and prison and, for the first time, he publicly expressed his regret towards the victims of drug trafficking.
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Born in California and raised on a ranch in Durango, Coronel describes a childhood marked by precariousness: “I lived at home with my parents and three brothers. There was no running water or electricity and, of course, no television. We were completely isolated from the world.”
According to him, in that region many farmers resorted to growing marijuana to survive: “That’s how people made a living. I grew up seeing and believing that the government was the enemy. You either starve or you do what you have to do to survive.”
Coronel met Guzmán when she was 17 years old, during a local party in which she was participating as a candidate for a beauty pageant.
“I heard that there was an important person at the party and they told me that person wanted to dance with me. A man came and told me: ‘My name is Joaquín,'” he recalled.
After winning the local beauty pageant, Coronel and Guzmán married shortly after she turned 18, in a symbolic ceremony at the family ranch.
“It was a symbolic marriage, we did not have a civil union,” he explained.
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Coronel maintains that he never witnessed the violence associated with drug trafficking nor participated in Guzmán’s criminal activities. “Thank God, until now, I have never been in a situation where I have seen someone lose their life. I have never been in a situation like this,” he said in the Oxygen documentary.
He assured that Guzmán kept his criminal life separate from his family life: “He didn’t sit down and talk to me about his work. I didn’t ask him questions, nor did I watch him work.”
“I sympathize with all the people who have lost a loved one, who have suffered,” expressed and added: “Very sorry”.
Upon release in September 2023, Coronel revealed to Oxygen that he is trying to rebuild his life and support his daughters. Among her new activities, she stands out in modeling and the development of her own brand. Although his future remains linked to the shadow of the cartel, Coronel insists on his desire to move forward: “I want to move forward with my life.”
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