Mother of jailed Mexican drug lord ‘El Chapo’ Guzman dies–local media

Consuelo Loera, mother of the Mexican drug lord Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman, leaves the U.S. embassy after requesting a humanitarian visa so she can visit her imprisoned son in Mexico City, Mexico June 1, 2019. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido/FILE PHOTO

MEXICO CITY — The elderly mother of convicted Mexican crime boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman has died after spending the last couple weeks in a private clinic, local media reported on Sunday.

El Sol de Sinaloa, a major newspaper in the family’s home state of Sinaloa, located in northwest Mexico, reported that Consuelo Loera was 94 years old.

Other Mexican media outlets, like the national daily El Universal, cited “security authorities” in reports of Loera’s death.

Jenaro Villamil, a longtime Mexican journalist who now heads the government’s public radio network SPR, also noted her passing in a post on social media.

Reuters has not been able to verify the reports independently. A lawyer for Guzman did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Loera’s infamous son for years led the Sinaloa Cartel, the powerful criminal organization with global reach that moved tons of drugs across multiple continents. It was blamed for the deaths of thousands of people in Mexico ranging from rival gang members, ordinary citizens, police and members of the armed forces.

Guzman was convicted on murder and drug charges in the United States in 2019, and is serving a life sentence in a maximum-security prison in Colorado.

Loera was thrust into the media spotlight in 2020 when Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador shook her hand on a visit to the outskirts of Badiraguato, the rugged Sinaloa municipality where her children were born and raised. The president defended the gesture at the time as a matter of courtesy, calling Loera a “respectable old lady.”