Drug Lord's Pregnant Daughter Caught Sneaking Into US: Feds
Chapo Guzman's daughter had false papers, wanted to give birth in Los Angeles.
Oct. 16, 2012 — -- The pregnant daughter of Mexico's most famous and elusive drug lord has been caught trying to use false papers to sneak into the U.S. and give birth, say officials.
Alejandrina Gisselle Guzman Salazar, 31, was arrested on Friday afternoon at the San Ysidro crossing south of San Diego, the nation's busiest. Officials told the Associated Press that when the woman's false documents didn't match her fingerprints she admitted that she was the daughter of Joaquin "El Chapo" (Shorty) Guzman, the Sinaloa cartel chieftain long sought by both Mexican and U.S. authorities.
Guzman Salazar, who attempted to enter the U.S. on foot, reportedly told authorities she was seven months pregnant. According to the criminal complaint against Guzman Salazar, "Defendant stated that her intent was to enter into the United States and travel to Los Angeles, California in order to give birth to her child." She has been charged with fraud and appeared before a federal judge today.
In 2011, according to the Los Angeles Times, Chapo Guzman's wife crossed the border into California to give birth to twin girls at a hospital outside Los Angeles. Authorities said at the time they had no legal reason to hold Emma Coronel, a 22-year-old Mexican beauty queen and U.S. citizen.
Chapo Guzman, 54, has had at least three wives, according to authorities, including his first wife, Maria, who is Guzman Salazar's mother. The U.S. Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on Maria and on Chapo Guzman's second wife, Griselda.
A bail hearing is scheduled for Guzman Salazar on Oct. 25. She is represented by Jan Ronis, a prominent San Diego attorney who previously represented Mexican drug lord Benjamin Arellano Felix. Arellano Felix pled guilty to racketeering and money laundering in federal court earlier this year. Authorities captured Arellano after tracking his daughter's trips to San Diego.
The U.S. Attorney's office in San Diego declined to comment on defendant Guzman Salazar's identity or relationship with Chapo Guzman.
