Monument to El Chapo's Son Blown Up in Explosion Felt Around City in Sinaloa

During the morning of Jan. 23 residents of Culiacán, the capital city of Sinaloa, were witnesses of a strong explosion north of the city.

The explosion targeted a monument built in remembrance of Édgar Guzmán alias "El Moreno, one of the sons of Sinaloa cartel co-founder Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán.

"El Moreno" was killed, according to local media outlets, on May 8, 2008 in the parking lot of a nearby strip mall. He was accompanied by his cousins César Ariel Loera and Arturo Meza Cázeres when a rival group opened fire against them.

The body of "El Chapo's" son was left laying against the sidewalk alongside hundreds of cartridges.

After his death, the Guzmán family decided to build a monument in the same parking lot where "El Moreno" was killed back in 2008. Last year, it was adorned with white and red roses, special lighting and even a red carpet in remembrance of Édgar Guzmán to celebrate his 16th mournful anniversary.

At the moment of the explosion, a suspected car was parked near the monument located at the parking lot of a membership-only big-box warehouse club retail store City Club, which made authorities believe the attack was conducted by a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device, although further investigations indicated the car had nothing to do with the incident.

According to authorities, the explosion took place minutes after a homicide was reported in the neighborhood of Villa Bonita, less than 10 miles from where "El Moreno's" monument is located.

Law enforcement continue to investigate the cause of the explosion and they believe both the explosion and the homicide are related.