The son of ‘El Chapo’ Guzman’s shadowy business partner just busted out of prison

Suspected Mexican drug trafficker Juan Jose Esparragoza Monzon, aka El Negro, reportedly escaped from a prison in the city of Culiacan in northwest Mexico’s Sinaloa state on Thursday afternoon.

Monzon, who was captured January 19, is the son of Juan Jose Esparragoza Moreno, who is a longtime partner of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman in the upper echelon of the Sinaloa cartel.

Moreno, known as El Azul, is believed to be a major player in the cartel but has remained out of the public view. Rumors have recently emerged that he died of a heart attack in 2014.

Monzon reportedly broke out with four other high-danger prisoners, and all of them are believed to be connected to the Sinaloa cartel.

According to Sinaloa-based newspaper Rio Doce, the alarm was sounded at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, calling for support from three levels of government. Two hours later, a search operation began around the prison but did not locate Monzon or his fellow escapees.

Read the whole story from Business Insider.

Featured image courtesy of the Mexican National Security Commission