Mexican Cartel Queen Pleads Guilty In Drug Trafficking Case

Usually when people think of drug trafficking, images of powerful, ruthless men like Pablo Escobar or the fictional Tony Montana come to mind. Sandra Avila Beltran aimed to break that mold, and for many years she did.

Beltran had a vital position in a drug trafficking operation that also included her boyfriend Juan Diego Espinosa Ramirez. The "Queen of the Pacific" acted as a bridge between Mexico's Sinaloa cartel and Colombia's Norte Valle cartel. Things got a lot more complicated for the couple once Espinosa became one of the DEA's most wanted targets.

"Unbeknownst to [Espinosa], the purchaser was arrested by [the DEA in Miami] in early December 2001 and became a cooperating source," the records showed. 

From there, Espinosa was forced to go into hiding, eluding the DEA for several years before eventually being found. Beltran signed a statement admitting that she helped Espinosa while he was on the run, thus making her an accessory to his charges.

"Between approximately 2002 and 2004, Avila-Beltran provided financial assistance for travel, lodging and other expenses to [Espinosa] with the intention of preventing or hindering his arrest for drug-trafficking crimes," court documents said.

The 52-year-old Mexican cartel queen was at times a bigger-than-life persona. She had an expensive taste for fashion and food, and was even rumored to have received Botox injections while in prison. Now after pleading guilty to accessory charges, she will be facing down a 15 year sentence at a July 25 sentencing hearing.

"Both sides felt the charge of accessory after the fact would be reflective of a fair and just result," Beltran's attorney, Howard Schumacher, told The Miami Herald.

Beltran has already spent six years in prison, and that time that she was incarcerated will most likely be counted towards her sentencing. Initially she was facing upwards of life in prison, but her cooperation with the investigation has led to a softening of charges against Beltran.