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Juan José Esparragoza Moreno

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"El Azul" redirects here. For the Junior H and Peso Pluma song, see El Azul (song).
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Esparragoza and the second or maternal family name is Moreno.
Juan José Esparragoza Moreno
Born(1949-02-03)February 3, 1949
Huixiopa, Badiraguato, Sinaloa, Mexico
Died(2014-06-07)June 7, 2014 (unconfirmed)[1]
Mexico
Other names
Aliases: El Azul
  • El Azul
  • Juan Robles
  • El Huarache
  • Juan Robledo
  • Arturo Beltrán
  • Raúl González
  • José Luis Esparragosa
  • Juan Esparragosa Ualino
  • Juan Manuel Ortiz Moreno
  • Juan José Esparraguza Valino
  • Juan José Esparragoza Italino
  • Juan José Esparragoza Martínez
OccupationCo-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Criminal statusFugitive
SpouseGloria Monzón
Reward amount
Mexico: $30 million Mexican pesos
USA: $5 million USD
Accomplice(s)Ismael Zambada García

Juan José Esparragoza Moreno (born February 3, 1949, possibly died June 2014), commonly referred to by his alias El Azul (English: "The Blue One"), was a Mexican drug lord and co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel, a drug trafficking organization. Originally a member of the Dirección Federal de Seguridad (DFS) police agency, he founded the Guadalajara Cartel in the 1970s along with other drug kingpins in Mexico. Following its disintegration in the late 1980s, he went on to lead the Juárez Cartel and eventually settled in the Sinaloa Cartel. He worked alongside Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, once considered Mexico's most-wanted, drug lord.

Early life

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Juan José Esparragoza Moreno was born in Huixiopa, Badiraguato, Sinaloa, Mexico on 3 February 1949.[2][3][A 1] He has an alternative date of birth on 2 March 1949 listed on the United States government databases.[6] In the 1970s, he joined the Dirección Federal de Seguridad (DFS), a now-extinct Mexican federal police agency, where he befriended police commanders involved in organized crime.[7] Esparragoza Moreno's nickname, "El Azul" (English: "The Blue One"), derives from his complexion. He is said to be "so dark that his skin appears to be blue".[8][9]

Guadalajara Cartel

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After the implementation of Operation Condor (Spanish: Operación Cóndor), a Mexican antidrug program carried out in the 1970s to stop the flow of drugs from Mexico to the United States, many drug traffickers from the state of Sinaloa regrouped in Guadalajara, Jalisco to continue their operations.[10] The regrouping led to the formation of the Guadalajara Cartel,[11] a drug trafficking organization that eventually managed to control nearly all the narcotics trafficking operations in Mexico throughout the late 1970s and 1980s. Among their original founders were Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo (alias "El Padrino"), Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo (alias "Don Neto"), Rafael Caro Quintero (alias "Rafa"), Esparragoza Moreno, and other Sinaloan drug kingpins.[12][13] Throughout most of the 1970s and early 1980s, most of the cocaine that was smuggled to the United States was trafficked by the Colombian drug cartels through Florida and the Caribbean Sea.[14] However, with increased law enforcement measures in these areas by the mid-1980s, the Colombian drug kingpins shifted their operations to Mexico.[15]

The Guadalajara Cartel took advantage of this opportunity and began supplying cocaine for the Colombian groups through the U.S-Mexico border. But instead of simply acting as smugglers, the cartel leaders decided to take a share of the cocaine profits for themselves (the shares were often as high as 50%).[16] Under their leadership, the Guadalajara Cartel initially oversaw the production and distribution of marijuana and opium poppies to the United States; by the 1980s, the cartel began to expand its operations and include cocaine in its repertoire.[16][17] The Guadalajara Cartel managed to traffic cocaine to the U.S. in multi-ton shipments each month, and their leaders reportedly amassed a fortune. At the same time, the cartel enjoyed a level of protection through the DFS police agency; several of its members were involved in organized crime directly by actively participating in murder and drug trafficking on the cartel's behalf.[citation needed]

With the growing influence of the Guadalajara Cartel, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) started to conduct covert operations in Mexico. One of its special agents, Enrique Camarena Salazar, was sent to the DEA offices in Guadalajara and started to work undercover by infiltrating the Guadalajara Cartel.[18] During his tenure in Guadalajara, Camarena uncovered what seemed to be a never ending field of marijuana. In November 1984, Camarena directed Mexican authorities to a 220 acres (0.89 km2) marijuana plantation in Chihuahua known as Rancho Búfalo (English: "Buffalo Ranch"), which was owned by the Guadalajara Cartel. Upon their arrival, the Mexican soldiers destroyed tons in marijuana valuing in over US$8 billion. The raid resulted in a major financial blow for the Guadalajara Cartel, and its leaders vowed to retaliate against those responsible for directing the Mexican government to the location.[9][19]

Kidnapping, torture, and murder of Camarena

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In broad daylight on 7 February 1985, several DFS police officers kidnapped Camarena as he left the U.S. Consulate in Guadalajara.[20][21] A few hours after the incident, his pilot Alfredo Zavala Avelar, who had conducted operations for the DEA alongside Camarena, was abducted.[22] Camarena was taken to a home at 881 Lope de Vega in Guadalajara, where he was tortured to gain information regarding his knowledge of law enforcement operations directed against the Guadalajara Cartel; as well as any information that the DEA may have on Mexican politicians involved in drug trafficking. Over the course of the 30 plus hour torture session, Camarena's skull, jaw, nose, cheekbones, windpipe, and ribs were broken; the kidnappers brought in a doctor to administer drugs to the agent to keep him conscious throughout the whole session.[23] The kidnappers made audio recordings of some parts of Camarena's interrogation.[24] The final blow was apparently done when the torturers crushed his skull with a piece of rebar or other similar piece of metal.[25] About a month later, Camarena and Zavala's corpses were taken to the neighboring state of Michoacán and dumped in a roadside ditch to be discovered on 5 March 1985.[26][27]

The murder of Camarena outraged the U.S. government and put pressure on Mexico to arrest all the major players involved in the incident, resulting in a four-year law enforcement manhunt that brought down several leaders of the Guadalajara Cartel.[28] Caro Quintero was arrested in Costa Rica on 4 April 1985 after fleeing Mexico;[29] on 7 April 1985, Fonseca Carrillo was nabbed by the Mexican police in Jalisco;[30] in March 1986, authorities arrested Esparragoza Moreno in Mexico City under the direction of the DFS police commander Florentino Ventura.[20][31] He was imprisoned at the Reclusorio Sur penitentiary in Mexico City on 11 March 1986 for drug trafficking charges and for his alleged participation in the murder of Camarena. Esparragoza Moreno did not admit to the charges against him and said that he was innocent. A federal judge, however, sentenced him to seven years and two months behind bars. On 9 July 1990, he was transferred to another prison in Mexico City, and in March 1992 he was moved to the Federal Social Readaptation Center No. 1 (known simply as "La Palma") in Almoloya de Juárez, State of Mexico. A year later, Esparragoza Moreno fulfilled his sentence and was released from prison.[32][33]

While Esparragoza Moreno was in prison, Félix Gallardo was arrested at his home in Guadalajara in April 1989. In efforts to keep the drug trade in Mexico working while he was behind bars, Félix Gallardo called for an organized crime summit in Acapulco, Guerrero. At the meeting, those present agreed to dismantle the Guadalajara Cartel and divide its territories among themselves.[34] Each drug lord was given a certain region where they could traffic drugs to the U.S. and tax smugglers that wished to move merchandise on their turf. The Arellano Félix brothers and other drug traffickers formed the Tijuana Cartel, which controlled the Tijuana corridor and parts of Baja California; in Chihuahua state, a group controlled by the Carrillo Fuentes family formed the Juárez Cartel; and the remaining faction left to Sinaloa and the Pacific Coast and formed the Sinaloa Cartel under the traffickers Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, Héctor "El Güero" Palma, and Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán.[35][36] When Esparragoza Moreno became a free man, he joined the forces of the Juárez Cartel.[37][38]

Juárez Cartel

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In 1993, Esparragoza Moreno joined the forces of the Juárez Cartel under the tutelage of the cartel's leader Amado Carrillo Fuentes (alias "El Señor de los Cielos"), a top drug baron in Mexico.[39][40] During Esparragoza Moreno's tenure under Carrillo Fuentes, the Juárez Cartel used sophisticated technology, such as large aircraft, to smuggle narcotics, including marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine, from Mexico to the U.S. The cartel had an important business relationship with the Cali Cartel in Colombia, and owned a number of storage places along the U.S.-Mexico border that were used to hide their merchandise before it was smuggled. The cartel's connection with Mexico's justice system was reportedly well-established too; it is believed that the former Mexican Army General José de Jesús Gutiérrez Rebollo protected the Juárez Cartel until he was incarcerated for drug trafficking offenses in 1997. In addition, during the 1990s, the Juárez Cartel reportedly spent between US$20 and US$30 million financing each of their smuggling networks, and generated millions more a week from drug proceeds.[41] Through a large network spread across the U.S., the Juárez Cartel recruited gang members to move the drugs for them across urban areas like Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Houston, Denver, Phoenix, and New York City.[42]

In the cartel, Esparragoza Moreno initially worked as the operational chief and later became the second-in-command, just behind Carrillo Fuentes.[43] He was also a business partner with the imprisoned drug lord Juan José Quintero Payán (alias "Don Juanjo"), one of the founders of the Juárez Cartel.[44][45] Esparragoza Moreno's role in the Juárez Cartel was that of a negotiator, and he was responsible for forging alliances with Peruvian and Colombian drug suppliers.[43][46] He was also a dispute arbitrator within the cartel and was credited for organizing a peace agreement with the Gulf Cartel in northern Mexico.[47] After his tenure in the Juárez Cartel, Esparragoza Moreno traditionally held leadership positions as a number-two figure, given his preference to maintain a low-profile status and avoid getting arrested or killed as the top kingpins usually do.[48]

In an attempt to change his physical appearance and avoid detection from Mexican and U.S. law enforcement, Carrillo Fuentes decided in 1997 to undergo plastic surgery and relocate outside of Mexico.[41] After the eight-hour-long surgery at the Santa Mónica Hospital in Mexico City, Carrillo Fuentes reportedly died of a heart attack which was caused either by an overdose of the tranquilizer Dormicum or by a defect in a respirator.[49] With Carrillo Fuentes's leadership void open, a power struggle within the cartel ensued as their leaders and rival crime groups scrambled to take over the kingpin's empire.[50][51] The natural successor was his brother Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, who appointed his brother Rodolfo, his nephew Vicente Carrillo Leyva, and others as part of his faction.[52][53] Esparragoza Moreno and others within the cartel, however, disagreed with the imposition of Carrillo Fuentes as the leader.[54]

The Federation/Sinaloa Alliance

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Esparragoza was linked to leadership of "The Federation", an alliance of the Sinaloa, Juárez and Sonora (Caro-Quintero Organization) cartels, during the first decade of the century.[55]

Bounty

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Esparragoza Moreno is currently wanted by the United States Department of State under its Narcotics Rewards Program and is offering a US$5 million bounty.[56] In Mexico, he is included in the list of Mexico's 37 most-wanted drug lords, and the Mexican government is offering a $2 million bounty.[57] In its wanted-poster description, the drug lord is said to have several aliases aside from his trademark "El Azul": Juan José Esparragoza Martínez, José Luis Esparragosa, Juan Esparragosa Ualino, Juan José Esparragoza Italino, Juan José Esparraguza Valino, Juan Manuel Ortiz Moreno, Arturo Beltrán, Raúl González, Juan Robles, Juan Robledo, and El Huarache.[58][59] The free toll telephone tip lines made by the U.S. and Mexican governments are the following: in the U.S. it is 1-866-EL-AZUL-5 (1-866-352-9855) and in Mexico it is 01-800-9000-234 or 01-800-0025-200.[59]

Kingpin Act sanctions

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The United States Department of the Treasury placed economic sanctions on nine entities and ten individuals linked to Esparragoza Moreno on 24 June 2012.[60] In the statement, the United States froze the assets of the drug lord's family members, which consisted of several gas stations, a shopping center, a housing company, and other businesses.[61] The Treasury blacklisted the ten individuals and prohibited U.S. companies from doing business with them.[61] Six of the ten people sanctioned were family members of Esparragoza Moreno: two wives and four of his children.[60] One of his wives, however, owned a property directly under his name.[60] The other wife was sanctioned for owning seven gas stations on Esparragoza Moreno's behalf.[60]

The Treasury called Esparragoza Moreno a "godfather of Mexican narcotics" who has used illicit money to build a network in the legitimate business.[60][62] While other Mexican drug lords have sought for more attention, Esparragoza Moreno tried to keep a low-profile in hopes of avoiding detection.[63][64] Mexican investigators, however, have expressed their frustrations in the announcements the United States makes on the kingpin act designations, because they say that U.S. officials do not provide the evidence necessary to prosecute the drug lords and their associates in Mexican courts.[65]

Alejandra Araujo Uriarte, his mother-in-law, was blacklisted by the U.S. Treasury in December 2014 for allegedly having had concealed assets owned by Esparragoza Moreno. She was blacklisted because authorities believe that after the drug lord's family members were sanctioned, his wife began money laundering through her bank accounts.[66]

Alleged death

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On June 7, 2014, Esparragoza Moreno reportedly died of a heart attack at the age of 65, apparently following a car accident he had suffered fifteen days earlier. According to unconfirmed reports, Esparragoza Moreno was confined to a bed after injuring his vertebral column in the wreck. When he tried to get up from his bed, he suffered a heart attack and died.[67]

Sources disagree on the exact location of his death; some state he died in Mexico City, while others suggest it may have been in Guadalajara. Esparragoza Moreno's remains were reportedly cremated and sent to Culiacán, Sinaloa by his family members and friends.[68]

The Mexican law enforcement and intelligence agencies, Procuraduría General de la República (PGR) and the Centro de Investigación y Seguridad Nacional (CISEN), led the investigation along with the DEA.[69][70] The PGR chief Jesús Murillo Karam indicated that the Mexican government did not have sufficient evidence to confirm the rumors surrounding the drug lord's death. The mayor of Badiraguato Mario Valenzuela as well as the Governor of Sinaloa, Mario López Valdez, stated that the rumors were false.[71][72]

On 11 June 2014, the CISEN, the PGR, and the Policía Ministerial revealed that they had intelligence reports indicating that Esparragoza Moreno may have died at a hospital in Culiacán (not in Guadalajara or Mexico City, as previously stated). According to those unconfirmed reports, Esparragoza Moreno was registered at the hospital under a fake name and died there from a heart attack. Before authorities had a chance to confirm his death, the investigation states, his corpse was taken from the hospital and cremated the next day. The authorities carried out similar investigations in Mexico City, Jalisco, Nuevo León, and Sinaloa, but they have not found any information to confirm or deny the rumors surrounding Esparragoza Moreno's death.[73][74]

In August 2014, José Juan Esparragoza Jiménez, the son of Esparragoza Moreno, was arrested on charges of trafficking methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana. During his police interrogation, he stated that his father was deceased.[75]

Media portrayals

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In Narcos: Mexico, El Azul is portrayed by Fermín Martínez. The series falsely portrays that he was killed by the Tijuana cartel in the 1990s, in reality he died in 2014, although it is not officially confirmed.

See also

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Sources

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ His hometown Huichiopa is sometimes written as Huixiopa or Chuicopa.[4][5]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Gurney, Kyra (2017-03-27). "Sinaloa Cartel Leader 'El Azul' Dead? 'El Mayo' Now In Control?". InSight Crime. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  2. ^ "'El Azul', ¿sucesor de 'El Chapo'?" (in Spanish). Red Política. 2 May 2014. Archived from the original on 8 May 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  3. ^ "Cuna de narcos se hunde en la miseria". El Universal (in Spanish). 20 February 2011. Archived from the original on 2 March 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  4. ^ Marina, Sandra (9 June 2014). "PGR no tiene evidencias para confirmar muerte de "El Azul"" (in Spanish). El Financiero. Grupo Multimedia Lauman. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  5. ^ "Ofrece EU 563 mdp por la cabeza de seis narcos mexicanos" (in Spanish). Proceso. 8 August 2013. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  6. ^ The Code of Federal Regulations of the United States of America. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1983. p. 1118.
  7. ^ Hernández, Anabel 2012, p. xxx.
  8. ^ Valdez, Diana Washington (2006). The Killing Fields: Harvest of Women. Peace at the Border. p. 120. ISBN 0-615-14008-4.
  9. ^ a b Nash, Jay Robert (21 August 1993). World Encyclopedia of Organized Crime. Da Capo Press. p. 155. ISBN 0-306-80535-9.
  10. ^ Campbell, Howard 2010, p. 283.
  11. ^ Bowden, Charles 2002, p. 136.
  12. ^ "Treasury Sanctions Mexican Traffickers Tied to Camarena Murder". Drug Enforcement Administration. 12 July 2013. Archived from the original on 4 July 2013. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  13. ^ "La historia del narcotráfico en Guadalajara" (in Spanish). El Informador (Mexico). 31 July 2010. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  14. ^ Edmonds-Poli & Shirk 2009, p. 261-262.
  15. ^ Lyman, Michael D. 2003, p. 297-298.
  16. ^ a b Cockburn, Alexander 1998, p. 349.
  17. ^ Bunker, Julie Marie 2012, p. 51.
  18. ^ Ochoa O'Leary, Anna 2013, p. 129.
  19. ^ "El gran decomiso en el rancho El Búfalo, de Caro Quintero" (in Spanish). El Universal (Mexico City). 9 August 2013. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  20. ^ a b Chepesiuk, Ron 1999, p. 27.
  21. ^ Marín, Rubén (9 August 2013). "Camarena Salazar, la 'cruz' de Caro Quintero" (in Spanish). La Opinión. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  22. ^ Monsiváis, Carlos 1997, p. 157.
  23. ^ Seper, Jerry (5 March 2010). "Brutal DEA agent murder reminder of agency priority". The Washington Times. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  24. ^ Murphy, Kim (7 June 1988). "Tape of Drug Agent's Torture Is Made Public". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  25. ^ "Testimony: Doctor's Fingerprints Found at Home Where Camarena Died". The Associated Press. 4 December 1992. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  26. ^ Castillo García, Gustavo (10 August 2013). "El asesinato de un agente de la DEA precipitó la debacle de Caro Quintero" (in Spanish). La Jornada. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  27. ^ Nájar, Alberto (23 August 2011). "Kiki Camarena, el caso que México no puede olvidar" (in Spanish). Mexico City: BBC Mundo. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  28. ^ Vulliamy, Ed (23 February 2014). "Joaquín "Chapo" Guzmán: the Mexican drug lord adept at playing the system". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  29. ^ González, Fernando Manuel 1996, p. 15.
  30. ^ Méndez, Alfredo (5 June 2009). "Después de estar presa 10 años fue liberada una hija de don Neto" (in Spanish). La Jornada. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  31. ^ "'El Azul' discreto, platicador y gentil". El Universal (in Spanish). 15 June 2008. Archived from the original on 2011-06-06. Retrieved 2009-12-21.
  32. ^ "El Azul, un narco con cuatro décadas en el negocio" (in Spanish). El Informador (Mexico). 2013. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  33. ^ Astorga, Luis (2010). "Drug Trafficking Organizations and Counter-Drug Strategies in the U.S.-Mexican Context" (PDF). Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. p. 38. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 July 2013. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  34. ^ Grillo, Ioan 2012, p. 78.
  35. ^ Beith, Malcolm 2010, p. 72-73.
  36. ^ Edmonds-Poli & Shirk 2009, p. 262.
  37. ^ "Leaders of Mexican Narcotics Cartel Added to Treasury Dept. List". United States Department of the Treasury. 24 November 2004. Archived from the original on 12 March 2008. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  38. ^ "El Azul, otra cabeza del cártel" (in Spanish). La Jornada. 24 February 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  39. ^ Quesada, Juan Diego (11 June 2014). "El misterio de El Azul se agranda" (in Spanish). El País. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  40. ^ Washington Valdez, Diana 2005, p. 109.
  41. ^ a b Chepesiuk, Ron 1999, p. 30.
  42. ^ United States of America Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the 105th Congress Second Session Vol. 144 Part 4. Government Printing Office. 26 March 1998. p. 4797.
  43. ^ a b Rodriguez, Olga R. "Juarez drug gang forms alliances to control border". Associated Press Writer.
  44. ^ Medellín, Jorge Alejandro (31 October 1999). "Captura la PGR a viejo capo del cártel de Juárez" (in Spanish). El Universal (Mexico City). Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  45. ^ Contreras, Guillermo (9 December 2011). "Reputed drug kingpin gets 18 years in prison". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  46. ^ "Organized Crime and Terrorist Activity in Mexico, 1999-2002" (PDF). Library of Congress. February 2003.
  47. ^ Méndez, Alfredo (25 July 2012). "Sobreviviente de cuatro décadas, el capo destaca por discreto y eficaz" (in Spanish). La Jornada.
  48. ^ (subscription required) "Los secretos de Juan José Esparragoza 'El Azul'" (in Spanish). No. Edición 1746. Proceso. 17 April 2010. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  49. ^ Grayson, George W. 2011, p. 76-77.
  50. ^ Sheridan, Mary Beth (12 September 1998). "Alleged Pioneer of Mexico-U.S. Cocaine Trade Found Slain". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  51. ^ Constantine, Thomas A. (26 February 1998). "DEA Congressional Testimony: International Organized Crime Syndicates and their Imapct on the United States". Federation of American Scientists. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  52. ^ McCarthy, Dennis M. P. 2011, p. 132.
  53. ^ Grayson, George W. 2013, p. 76.
  54. ^ Dávila, Patricia (28 February 2014). "Después de 'El Chapo' y de Zambada… 'El Azul', a la expectativa" (in Spanish). Proceso. Archived from the original on 7 June 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  55. ^ Alfredo Corchado (June 25, 2007). "Mexican cartels in talks to split turf". The Dallas Morning News.
  56. ^ "Narcotics Rewards Program: Juan Jose Esparragoza-Moreno". United States Department of State. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  57. ^ "Mexico's most wanted traffickers, at $2 million". The Associated Press. 2009. Archived from the original on 27 March 2009. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  58. ^ "Wanted Post by the FBI: Juan Jose Esparragoza Moreno". El Paso, Texas: Federal Bureau of Investigation. Archived from the original on 3 September 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  59. ^ a b "Juan Jose Esparragoza Moreno Indicted". Drug Enforcement Administration. 28 October 2004. Archived from the original on 17 June 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  60. ^ a b c d e Rubenfeld, Samuel (24 July 2012). "Treasury Targets Sinaloa Cartel Leader's Corporate Network". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  61. ^ a b "U.S. sanctions target Mexican drug lord's wives, business network". Chicago Tribune. 24 July 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  62. ^ Stevenson, Mark (24 July 2012). "Sinaloa Capo Juan Jose Esparragoza's Kin On Drug Kingpin List". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  63. ^ "U.S. hits Mexican drug lord's relatives with sanctions". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. 24 July 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  64. ^ "Treasury Targets Corporate Network of Sinaloa Cartel Drug Lord El Azul". United States Department of Treasury. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  65. ^ "US places relatives of Sinaloa cartel drug lord on kingpin list". The Washington Post. 24 July 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2012.[dead link‍]
  66. ^ Riechmann, Deb (18 December 2014). "Treasury Sanctions Mother-in-Law of Mexican Drug Lord". ABC News. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  67. ^ Valdez, Javier (8 June 2014). "Reportan muerte de líder del cártel de Sinaloa conocido como El Azul" (in Spanish). La Jornada. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  68. ^ "Reporta Ríodoce que el narcotraficante El Azul murió de un infarto" (in Spanish). Proceso. 8 June 2014. Archived from the original on 10 June 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  69. ^ "Investigan PGR y Cisen posible muerte de El Azul" (in Spanish). Noroeste. 8 June 2014. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  70. ^ "La DEA investiga presunta muerte de 'El Azul'" (in Spanish). El Informador (Mexico). 10 June 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  71. ^ "Autoridades no cuentan con información sobre la supuesta muerte de El Azul" (in Spanish). Univision. 9 June 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  72. ^ "Malova duda de muerte de 'El Azul'; Badiraguato en calma" (in Spanish). Terra Networks. 9 June 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  73. ^ Castillo García, Gustavo (11 June 2014). "El Cisen y la PGR amplían búsqueda de El Azul a hospitales de Culiacán" (in Spanish). La Jornada. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  74. ^ Becerra, Hector (9 June 2014). "Mexican cartel kingpin reported dead -- of a heart attack". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  75. ^ Rama, Anahi (27 August 2014). "Son of Mexican drug capo 'Mr Blue' tells court his father died -source". Mexico City: Reuters. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2014.

Bibliography

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