What Happened To ‘La Patrona’, The Highest-ranking Woman In The Sinaloa Cartel And Associate Of ‘El Chapo’ Guzman?

Mica for cartelinsider.com

The participation of women in drug trafficking is scarce, but not nonexistent. Proof of this is seen in the criminal trajectories of Sandra Ávila Beltrán, Claudia Ochoa Félix, Enedina Arellano Félix, and Guadalupe Fernández Valencia; the latter being identified as one of the few women to have reached a high rank in the Sinaloa Cartel.

Also known as ‘La Patrona’, Fernández Valencia is recognized for being one of the main associates of Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán during the time in which the native of Badiraguato, Sinaloa, was at the head of the criminal organization.

According to reports, Valencia’s beginnings in the Sinaloa Cartel date back to 2007, the year he arrived in Culiacán after spending 10 years in a United States prison for drug trafficking crimes.

“La Patrona” quickly gained the trust of the former drug trafficker, and for the next three years she was in charge of carrying out important tasks alongside her brother Manuel. However, it all came to an end briefly in 2010, when Manuel was captured by authorities.

It only took two years for Fernández Valencia to decide to return to the business.

Between 2012 and 2016, Fernández Valencia continued to work closely with Guzmán Loera, whom he helped to launder the profits from cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana trafficking. Some reports indicate that during this time, he coordinated his operations directly with Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar, son of ‘El Chapo’ and current member of Los Chapitos.

As a result of their criminal activities, US authorities began to track their operations and entered them into the list of the eight most wanted drug traffickers from the Sinaloa Cartel by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

But the rise of ‘La Patrona’, like that of her brother, came to an end a month after the fall of their partner. By 2017, she was already confined in a federal prison in Illinois, Chicago.

Upon her arrival to the neighboring north, the Department of Justice made it clear that they had all the elements to sentence her to life imprisonment, but instead they decided to offer her the opportunity to testify against ‘El Chapo’ in exchange for a reduced sentence.

The woman finally accepted and pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and money laundering months before the so-called ‘Trial of the Century’ began.

During her trial, ‘La Patrona’ declared before a federal judge in Chicago that she had previously worked in factories, but decided to enter the drug business after becoming pregnant. In total, she had five children.

In 2021, Guadalupe Fernández Valencia was sentenced to 10 years in prison for her involvement in the Sinaloa Cartel.

According to his guilty plea, he was responsible for transporting an average of 30 kilograms of cocaine weekly to Los Angeles, California. In addition, he was in charge of moving money from the same city to various currency exchange establishments located in Guadalajara.

Before knowing her sentence, ‘La Patrona’ apologized tearfully to her family and the American justice system.

“I want to take this opportunity to apologize to my children and my family. I would like to find the words to convince them of how sorry I am,” she declared.

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Mica

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