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Wife of "El Chapo" appears in court over drug trafficking charges

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The wife of the former drug lord known as "El Chapo" was arrested in the U.S. and is facing charges of drug smuggling and helping plan her husband's escape from a Mexico prison. Jeff Pegues reports.

Video Transcript

- Tonight, as the drug lord known as El Chapo serves a life sentence in Colorado, his wife is also behind bars. She was arrested Monday at Dulles Airport on charges of drug trafficking and helping to plan her husband's infamous escape in Mexico. Here's CBS's Jeff Pegues.

JEFF PEGUES: Today, the former beauty queen appeared before a judge in Washington DC. She is alleged to have played a key role in Guzman's bold 2015 prison break during which a Sinaloa cartel construction crew carved out a mile long escape tunnel under Mexico's Altiplano maximum security prison.

El Chapo's subsequent arrest, extradition to the US, trial, and conviction gave his wife, who was more than 30 years younger, a platform to seek her own notoriety. She regularly attended her husband's trial in New York and also appeared on a reality TV show called "The Cartel Crew."

MICHAEL VIGIL: She is a wealth of knowledge because she knows full well the inner workings of the Sinaloa cartel.

JEFF PEGUES: And that may be what investigators are counting on. Jeff Pegues, CBS News, Washington.

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