Story highlights
NEW: Birth certificates for twin girls leave blank the name of father
Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's wife has twins in Los Angeles
Guzman's operation is accused of trafficking tons of cocaine into U.S.
Wife Emma Coronel has joint U.S., Mexican citizenship
The wife of powerful Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman has given birth to twins in a Los Angeles hospital and returned to Mexico, according to a senior U.S. government official.
The source asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue.
Guzman is wanted by U.S. authorities for leading an operation that has allegedly trafficked hundreds of tons of cocaine into the U.S. over a 20-year period. For his efforts, his cartel has received several billion dollars, according to U.S. anti-drug officials.
The Justice Department has issued a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture.
Guzman, who is believed to be 54, married 22-year-old beauty queen Emma Coronel in 2007, officials say.
Coronel carries both U.S. and Mexican citizenship and apparently violated no U.S. laws in traveling to California to give birth, the U.S. official said.
The source says officials were aware of Coronel’s travels and the August 15 births but kept it secret until a Los Angeles Times story this week reported the news.
Copies of the twin girls’ birth certificates leave blank the space for “name of father,” but the mother’s name is listed as Emma Modesta Coronel, who was born in California on July 2, 1989, according to records with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
The twin girls were born August 15 in Antelope Valley Hospital in Lancaster, California, according to the records.
CNN’s Jaqueline Hurtado contributed to this report.