Alexandria Adult Detention Center via AP
Emma Coronel Aispuro was arrested in Virginia on Monday.
Coronel is accused of helping her husband, the drug lord known as El Chapo, run his empire.
Her pursuit of fame may have made her a target for US authorities, the AP reported.
Emma Coronel Aispuro was arrested at Dulles International Airport in Virginia on Monday.
The wife of Mexico s most notorious drug lord, Joaquín El Chapo Guzmán Loera, is charged with conspiring to distribute drugs for importing into the US, the US Department of Justice said.
Coronel is also alleged to have conspired to help her husband escape a Mexican prison in 2015.
Emma Coronel Aispuro was arrested in DC, and charged with drug trafficking
But sources have claimed that she actually turned herself in and was ready to face the charges against her when she landed on Monday
US investigators are said to be confident that putting pressure on Coronel will finally make her turn on her husband, Joaquín El Chapo Guzmán
They believe she has information that could bring down the Sinaloa cartel
Coronel and Guzman married when she was a teenage beauty queen in 2007
Despite her status as the wife of the world’s most notorious drug boss, Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, Emma Coronel Aispuro lived mostly in obscurity – until her husband went to prison for life. Then, suddenly, she was a presence on social media. There was talk of launching a fashion line. Even an appearance on a reality show dedicated to the families of drug traffickers.
Kevin Hagen/AP
In this 2019 photo, Emma Coronel Aispuro, leaves a court in New York after attending the trial of her husband Joaquin El Chapo Guzman. Despite her status as the wife of the world’s most notorious drug boss, she lived mostly in obscurity - until her husband went to prison for life.