Rafael Caro-Quintero, a notorious drug kingpin who escaped jail and resumed cocaine trafficking over ten years ago, has been captured by Mexican authorities.
Caro-detention Quintero’s was verified by a Navy officer from Mexico on Friday, but no other information was given. After spending 28 years of a 40-year jail term for his part in the 1985 kidnapping and murder of a U.S. citizen, Caro-Quintero was released from prison in 2013. Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, a drug enforcement agent.
The president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has insisted that he prefers to avoid bloodshed and has no interest in apprehending drug lords.
Former Guadalajara cartel boss Caro-Quintero is accused by the DEA of resuming drug trafficking and ordering violent attacks in the Sonora border state in northern Mexico.
Following a search on a marijuana crop in 1984, Caro-Quintero reportedly ordered Camarena’s kidnapping the following year. A month later, Camarena’s body was discovered with signs of torture and abuse.
In 2018, the FBI put Caro-Quintero to its list of the Top 10 Most Wanted individuals and announced a $20 million reward for information leading to Quintero’s capture and/or conviction.
In a statement following his detention, Attorney General Merrick Garland stated that the US will be requesting his extradition.
Garland praised the DEA and its Mexican allies for their relentless efforts in bringing Caro-Quintero to justice for his alleged crimes, which include torturing and killing DEA Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena.
The US wants him prosecuted in a US court, Garland said.
