GUADALUPE MUST HAVE MADE FEMINISTS PROUD

Top female leader under 'El Chapo’ pleads guilty to narcotics, money laundering charges in Chicago

By Jason Meisner

Chicago Tribune
June 26, 2019

One of the highest ranking female operatives under infamous Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court in Chicago to charges alleging she oversaw the distribution of massive shipments of narcotics to the U.S. and helped launder millions of dollars in proceeds back to Mexico.

Guadalupe Fernandez Valencia, 59, could face up to life in prison after pleading guilty to one count each of narcotics trafficking and money laundering conspiracy.

In a 25-page plea agreement filed with the court, however, prosecutors said they would recommend a sentence of 10 to 15 years in prison in exchange for Valencia’s full cooperation in any current and future cartel investigations.

U.S. District Chief Judge Ruben Castillo said he would delay sentencing Valencia until after her cooperation has been completed.

Valencia, also known as “La Patrona,” allegedly reported directly to one of El Chapo’s sons. She was arrested in February 2016 in the northwestern city of Culiacan in the state of Sinaloa, where Guzman had been recaptured a month earlier.

She was extradited to Chicago in 2017 to face her role in a sweeping indictment against the notorious Mexican cartel that has been described as the most significant drug prosecution in Chicago’s history.

The indictment, which also named Guzman and several of his top henchmen, alleged the cartel used jumbo jets, submarines and tunnels to smuggle massive amounts of drugs into the U.S., much of which was later distributed in wholesale quantities through a network built by Chicago twins Pedro and Margarito Flores.

Valencia’s brother, Manuel Fernandez Valencia, who was charged as part of the same overall conspiracy, was sentenced in Chicago in 2016 to 27 years in prison.

Dressed in an orange jail jumpsuit with her dark, shoulder-length hair showing streaks of gray, Guadalupe Valencia listened to the proceedings Wednesday through a Spanish interpreter.

When Castillo asked her if she understood the trial rights she was waiving, she answered “Si, senoria,” or “Yes, your honor.”

The charges alleged that Valencia was a lieutenant for El Chapo’s son, Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar, helping to coordinate vast shipments of drugs into the U.S. for distribution. The cartel members then laundered billions of dollars in proceeds back to Mexico, according to the charges.

To protect their lucrative drug trade, cartel members used any means necessary, including bribing corrupt public officials, committing kidnappings and extortion, and threatening or committing violence against rival drug dealers as well as members of law enforcement, according to the charges.

In laying out Valencia’s role in the cartel, Assistant U.S. Attorney Erika Csicsila said Valencia moved to Culiacan in February 2007 after serving a 10-year prison sentence in the U.S. for unrelated offenses.

Once back in Mexico, Valencia began helping her brother import massive shipments of cocaine, heroin, marijuana and methamphetamine through tunnels and vehicles in the Tijuana area, where they were later taken to Los Angeles for redistribution, Csicsila said.

After her brother’s arrest in 2010, Valencia moved to Guadalajara and briefly left the cartel life, Csicsila said. She resumed in 2012, however, after her brother orchestrated a meeting from jail between his sister and one of his longtime suppliers.

In addition to trafficking the drugs, Valencia was also a major money launderer for the cartel, using workers to send cash through stores in the Los Angeles area to currency exchanges in Mexico, Csicsila said. Valencia paid the currency exchanges 3% of the proceeds to facilitate the deals, Csicsila said.

Guzman, meanwhile, was extradited to the U.S. earlier in 2017 after he was captured in a firefight between his bodyguards and Mexican marine special forces. He was convicted in New York in February on federal charges including drug conspiracy and murder. Guzman, who is seeking a new trial, is scheduled to be sentenced on July 17.