'El Chapo' Guzman's wife transferred to halfway house in California ahead of release

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- The wife of notorious Mexican cartel leader Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman was moved from a federal prison in Texas to a halfway house in Long Beach, California, according to an official with the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Emma Coronel Aispuro, a former teenage beauty queen, was convicted on drug trafficking and money laundering charges in November 2021.

Aispuro is set to be released in September, according to court records, and was ordered to pay almost $1.5 million in fines.

The BOP official told ABC News it's typical for inmates who have exhibited good behavior in federal prison to be moved to a halfway house - also known as a "residential re-entry program" - up to six months before their release.

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El Chapo was extradited in 2017 to the U.S., where he was convicted of a massive drug conspiracy that spread murder and mayhem for more than two decades.

He was sentenced in 2019 to life in a U.S. prison and remains jailed at a super-max prison facility in Florence, Colorado.

Aispuro married "El Chapo" as a teenager. She is now 33 years old.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.