A woman who says she had an affair with the notorious Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin Guzman testified against him on Thursday at his U.S. trial.
Lucero Guadalupe Sanchez Lopez, a former legislator in Guzman’s home state of Sinaloa, told a New York City jury that the relationship mixed business with pleasure in a way that caused discomfort.
“Until this day, I’m confused because I thought we were in a romantic relationship,” she said.
At another point, she said, “Sometimes I loved him and sometimes I didn’t.”
Sanchez, 29, said she became involved with the married Guzman in 2011. She said she would visit him at one of his many hideouts in Cabo San Lucas and communicate with him by text on mobile phones he gave her.
She said she also trafficked marijuana for him, with instructions to ready 882 pounds for each plane used to transport it from the countryside. He sought to purchase the marijuana on credit, but she refused because she was worried the growers would never get paid.
“I did not agree because it was unfair,” she said.
Earlier, a DEA agent described how Guzman eluded a manhunt in 2014 by escaping through a sewer system. U.S. authorities have said Sanchez was with him at the time.
Guzman was ultimately caught but ended up escaping from a Mexican prison. He was recaptured and sent to the U.S. in 2017 to face charges he says are fabricated.
