La Reina del Pacifico

"Reality is what it is. Drug trafficking creates jobs, and thousands have used it to overcome the desperation of unemployment."

Sandra Avila Beltran was born into the notorious Sinoloa Cartel. It is rumoured she had a string of lovers who were well known drug barons in her youth. She married twice, both police ex-commanders turned drug traffickers who were both executed. She was arrested in 2007 with her then lover Juan Diego Espinoza (AKA Le Tigré associated with the Colombian Norte del Valle cartel) charged with smuggling up to 10 tonnes of cocaine aboard a ship seized off the coast of Manzanillo she became known as ‘The Queen of the Pacific’. In 2010 she was acquitted of the drug trafficking charges in Mexico due to lack of evidence, but was to be extradited to the US to face charges of drug trafficking and money laundering. As a glamorous and charismatic woman, she has become something of a folk hero – being the subject of the book "The Queen of the Pacific: Time to Talk" as well as inspiring narco ballads.