Son of Sinaloa Drug Cartel Leader El Azul Escapes From Prison

MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) – Juan Jose Esparragoza Monzon (El Negro), the son of Juan Jose Esparragoza Moreno (El Azul) was not found inside the Culiacan prison and the authorities still do not know how he managed to escape, the Excelsior newspaper said on Thursday citing Sinaloa State undersecretary of public security Cristobal Castaneda.

Juan Jose Esparragoza Moreno (El Azul) is one of the leaders of the Sinaloa drug cartel. Another Sinaloa drug lord, Joaquin "El Chapo" ("Shorty") Guzman was extradited to the United States in January, to face a sentence of life in prison for operating a criminal drug organization and being involved in other drug-related crimes in New York.

Guzman escaped from the Altiplano maximum security prison in Mexico on July 11, 2015, using an underground tunnel. Mexican authorities searched for El Chapo for months before finally capturing him and sending him back to Altiplano.

Guzman’s Sinaloa drug cartel, named after his home state, smuggles cocaine from Colombia through Mexico to the United States. Sinaloa is responsible for a major portion of cocaine, heroin and marijuana sold in the streets of the United States.

Culiacan is the capital city of the Sinaloa State.