Juan José Esparragoza Moreno
Encyclopedia
Juan José Esparragoza Moreno (born February 3, 1949) a.k.a: El Azul (English
: "Blue"), is a former Mexican Federal Judicial Police
(PJF) officer turned drug trafficker. Esparragoza was born in Huichiopa, in the Mexican state of Sinaloa
. Esparragoza's nickname, "El Azul", derives from his complexion, he is said to be so dark his skin appears to be blue.
under Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo
, Rafael Caro Quintero
and Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo
. Following the arrest of Gallardo, it is believed Esparragoza moved to the leadership role within the Guadalajara Cartel prior to its dissolution. Gallardo bestowed upon his nephews who operated the Juárez Cartel
, the location and operations of the Guadalajara Cartel.
(DEA) agent Enrique Camarena
. In 1982, Camarena was informed of a large scale marijuana growing operation in which Carrillo, Esparragoza and Quintero, had turned 220 acre (0.8903092 km²) of land near San Luis Potosí
into a marijuana field
. The DEA began to do aerial reconnaissance and eventually committed to raiding the field, seizing 200 tons of marijuana. The DEA however failed to apprehend anyone, rumored to be due to a Judicial Police officer informing the cartel members of the pending operation.
Camarena, along with his pilot Alfredo Zavala, were kidnapped on February 7, 1985, torture
d and murdered by the Guadalajara Cartel for his role in hindering their operations.
Esparragoza was arrested in 1986 by police commander Florentino Ventura, who flaunted openly that he was the one who put Esparragoza behind bars. Esparragoza served seven years in 'Reclusorio Sur' prison and was released. Soon after, commander Florentino Ventura and other of his captors were all killed.
(Carrillo Fuentes Organization) in 1993 where he operated as a top lieutenant and operations chief. Following the death of Amado Carrillo Fuentes
during a plastic surgery
procedure, Esparragoza was rumored to have assumed a leadership position alongside Vicente Carrillo Fuentes
, brother to Amado, and Héctor Luis Palma Salazar
. The cocaine
and trafficking connection he created in Peru
and Colombia
are believed to have made him a primary leader in the Juárez Cartel.
In addition to cocaine contacts, Esparragoza is also known as a peace maker, forging alliances between other major cartels and resolving disputes. Most recently he has been linked to negotiating peace deals in Nuevo Laredo
between the Juárez Cartel and Heriberto Lazcano of Los Zetas
as well as Jorge Eduardo Costilla
of the Gulf Cartel
.
(Caro-Quintero Organization) cartels.
where there is a USD$5 million reward for information leading to his capture, while Mexico is offering a $2 million dollars reward.
Juan Jose Esparragoza Moreno, aka El Azul was indicted by the El Paso Division of the FBI in 2004 in the Operation Ghost Rider investigation. He is on the White House King Pin List.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
: "Blue"), is a former Mexican Federal Judicial Police
Federal Judicial Police
The Federal Judicial Police was the former federal police force of Mexico.The jurisdiction of the Federal Judicial Police encompasses the entire nation and was divided into thirteen zones with fifty-two smaller detachment headquarters...
(PJF) officer turned drug trafficker. Esparragoza was born in Huichiopa, in the Mexican state of Sinaloa
Sinaloa
Sinaloa officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 18 municipalities and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales....
. Esparragoza's nickname, "El Azul", derives from his complexion, he is said to be so dark his skin appears to be blue.
Guadalajara Cartel
Esparragoza's trafficking career dates back to the Guadalajara CartelGuadalajara Cartel
The Guadalajara Cartel was a Mexican drug cartel which was formed in the 1980s by Rafael Caro Quintero, Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo and Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo in order to ship heroin and marijuana to the United States...
under Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo
Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo
Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo is a former Mexican narcotics trafficker, operating as leader of the Guadalajara Cartel alongside Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo and Rafael Caro Quintero...
, Rafael Caro Quintero
Rafael Caro Quintero
Rafael Caro Quintero is an incarcerated Mexican drug lord born in La Noria, Badiraguato, Sinaloa. Quintero was a co-founder, with Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, of the Guadalajara Cartel and Sonora Cartel. Upon of the cartels' disintegration, its leaders were incorporated mostly into the Tijuana...
and Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo
Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo
Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo is a convicted Mexican drug lord known as "El Padrino" who in the 1980s formed the Guadalajara Cartel and became the first drug czar in Mexico to control all illegal drug traffic in Mexico and the corridors along the Mexico-U.S.A...
. Following the arrest of Gallardo, it is believed Esparragoza moved to the leadership role within the Guadalajara Cartel prior to its dissolution. Gallardo bestowed upon his nephews who operated the Juárez Cartel
Juárez Cartel
The Juárez Cartel , also known as the Vicente Carrillo Fuentes Organization, is a Mexican drug cartel based in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico, across the border from El Paso, Texas...
, the location and operations of the Guadalajara Cartel.
Enrique Camarena
Esparragoza was believed to have had a role in the death of United States Drug Enforcement AdministrationDrug Enforcement Administration
The Drug Enforcement Administration is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Justice, tasked with combating drug smuggling and use within the United States...
(DEA) agent Enrique Camarena
Enrique Camarena
Enrique "Kiki" Camarena Salazar Enrique "Kiki" Camarena Salazar Enrique "Kiki" Camarena Salazar (Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico July 26, 1947 - c. (Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, February 9, 1985) was an undercover agent for the United States Drug Enforcement Administration who was abducted on...
. In 1982, Camarena was informed of a large scale marijuana growing operation in which Carrillo, Esparragoza and Quintero, had turned 220 acre (0.8903092 km²) of land near San Luis Potosí
San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí
San Luis Potosí, commonly called SLP or simply San Luis, is the capital of, and most populous city in the Mexican state of the same name. The city lies at an elevation of 1,850 meters...
into a marijuana field
Cannabis (drug) cultivation
This article presents common techniques and facts regarding the cultivation of the flowering plant cannabis, primarily for the production and consumption of marijuana buds. Cultivation techniques for other purposes differ...
. The DEA began to do aerial reconnaissance and eventually committed to raiding the field, seizing 200 tons of marijuana. The DEA however failed to apprehend anyone, rumored to be due to a Judicial Police officer informing the cartel members of the pending operation.
Camarena, along with his pilot Alfredo Zavala, were kidnapped on February 7, 1985, torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
d and murdered by the Guadalajara Cartel for his role in hindering their operations.
Esparragoza was arrested in 1986 by police commander Florentino Ventura, who flaunted openly that he was the one who put Esparragoza behind bars. Esparragoza served seven years in 'Reclusorio Sur' prison and was released. Soon after, commander Florentino Ventura and other of his captors were all killed.
Juárez Cartel
Esparragoza is believed to have joined the Juárez CartelJuárez Cartel
The Juárez Cartel , also known as the Vicente Carrillo Fuentes Organization, is a Mexican drug cartel based in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico, across the border from El Paso, Texas...
(Carrillo Fuentes Organization) in 1993 where he operated as a top lieutenant and operations chief. Following the death of Amado Carrillo Fuentes
Amado Carrillo Fuentes
Amado Carrillo Fuentes , was a Mexican drug lord who seized control of the Juárez Cartel after assassinating his boss Rafael Aguilar Guajardo. Amado Carrillo became known as "El Señor de Los Cielos" because of the large fleet of jets he used to transport drugs...
during a plastic surgery
Plastic surgery
Plastic surgery is a medical specialty concerned with the correction or restoration of form and function. Though cosmetic or aesthetic surgery is the best-known kind of plastic surgery, most plastic surgery is not cosmetic: plastic surgery includes many types of reconstructive surgery, hand...
procedure, Esparragoza was rumored to have assumed a leadership position alongside Vicente Carrillo Fuentes
Vicente Carrillo Fuentes
Vicente Carrillo Fuentes is a Mexican drug lord who heads the Juárez Cartel in Mexico, which controls one of the primary transportation routes for billions of dollars worth of illegal drug shipments entering the United States from Mexico annually.Carrillo Fuentes is currently at large and is...
, brother to Amado, and Héctor Luis Palma Salazar
Héctor Luis Palma Salazar
Héctor Luis Palma Salazar was a Mexican drug trafficker and former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel alongside Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán .- Biography :...
. The cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
and trafficking connection he created in Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
and Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
are believed to have made him a primary leader in the Juárez Cartel.
In addition to cocaine contacts, Esparragoza is also known as a peace maker, forging alliances between other major cartels and resolving disputes. Most recently he has been linked to negotiating peace deals in Nuevo Laredo
Nuevo Laredo
Nuevo Laredo is a city located in the Municipality of Nuevo Laredo in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. The city lies on the banks of the Río Grande, across from the United States city of Laredo, Texas. The 2010 census population of the city was 373,725. Nuevo Laredo is part of the Laredo-Nuevo...
between the Juárez Cartel and Heriberto Lazcano of Los Zetas
Los Zetas
Los Zetas is the second most powerful drug cartel in Mexico and considered by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration as the most violent drug cartel and paramilitary enforcement group in Mexico...
as well as Jorge Eduardo Costilla
Jorge Eduardo Costilla
Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sánchez, nicknamed El Coss, is a Mexican drug lord and the leader of the criminal drug trafficking organization known as the Gulf Cartel.- Biography :Costilla was born on August 1, 1971...
of the Gulf Cartel
Gulf Cartel
The Gulf Cartel is one of the most powerful drug cartels in Mexico, and perhaps the oldest organized crime group in the country...
.
The Federation / Sinaloa Alliance
Esparragoza has most recently been linked to leading "The Federation", an alliance of the Sinaloa, Juárez and SonoraSonora Cartel
The Sonora Cartel, also called the Caro-Quintero Organization, was a Mexico based criminal cartel. Upon of the cartel's disintegration, its leaders were incorporated into the Tijuana Cartel and Sinaloa Cartel....
(Caro-Quintero Organization) cartels.
Bounty
Esparragoza is currently wanted in the United States DEADEA
DEA is the commonly used acronym for the Drug Enforcement Administration, a United States law enforcement agency.DEA or Dea may also refer to:- Organizations :* DEA , UK development education charity...
where there is a USD$5 million reward for information leading to his capture, while Mexico is offering a $2 million dollars reward.
See also
- Mexican Drug WarMexican Drug WarThe Mexican Drug War is an ongoing armed conflict taking place among rival drug cartels who fight each other for regional control, and Mexican government forces who seek to combat drug trafficking. However, the government's principal goal has been to put down the drug-related violence that was...
- List of Mexico's 37 most-wanted drug lords
Juan Jose Esparragoza Moreno, aka El Azul was indicted by the El Paso Division of the FBI in 2004 in the Operation Ghost Rider investigation. He is on the White House King Pin List.