The drug lord, Rafael Caro Quintero, who was one of the FBI’s ten most wanted fugitives for his alleged involvement in the kidnapping and murder of a US Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in 1985, in Mexico, has been captured by Mexican forces, according to the country’s navy.
“In an operation carried out by the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) in coordination with naval personnel, the arrest of an alleged transgressor of the law was achieved, in the state of Sinaloa, designated as a priority objective for the Government of Mexico and the United States of America,” Mexican Navy said in a statement on Saturday.
The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) “recognizes the aforementioned alleged drug trafficker as the leader of a criminal group in this country” and requests him to Mexico “with an extradition order,” says the Navy’s statement.
This action results from field and cabinet work “carried out since his release in 2013,” says the statement, which does not mention the man wanted for drug trafficking by name but offers the details of his case.
Caro Quintero was released in 2013 after serving 28 years in prison due to a procedural error.
Days after his surprise release, two new arrest warrants were issued; he was one of the ten most wanted men in the world by the US.
This action derived from field and cabinet work carried out since his release in 2013, which allowed the location of said person in the municipality of San Simón (Choix), Sinaloa, who was wanted by the security authorities of the Mexican government, counting with two arrest warrants against him, as well as an extradition order to the United States.
The detainee was handed over to the Attorney General’s Office for the corresponding investigation.
US Attorney General Merrick B. Garland today released the following statement on the capture of Rafael Caro-Quintero: “There is no hiding place for anyone who kidnaps, tortures, and murders American law enforcement. We are deeply grateful to Mexican authorities for their capture and arrest of Rafael Caro-Quintero. Today’s arrest is the culmination of tireless work by DEA and their Mexican partners to bring Caro-Quintero to justice for his alleged crimes, including the torture and execution of DEA Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena. We will be seeking his immediate extradition to the United States so he can be tried for these crimes in the very justice system Special Agent Camarena died defending”.
Rafael Caro-Quintero, was on the FBI’s ten most wanted fugitive list, for his alleged involvement in the kidnapping and murder of Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena in 1985, in Mexico. Additionally, Caro-Quintero allegedly holds an active key leadership position directing the activities of the Sinaloa Cartel and the Caro-Quintero Drug Trafficking Organization within the region of Badiraguato, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Caro-Quintero, a founding member of a Mexican drug cartel, was one of the highest rewards in the history of the program—$20 million—offered by the FBI for information leading to his capture.
According to the FBI, Rafael Caro-Quintero, known as RCQ and considered a godfather of Mexican drug trafficking, was one of the primary suppliers of heroin, cocaine, and marijuana to the United States in the late 1970s. In 1984, Mexican authorities raided a sprawling marijuana plantation owned by Caro-Quintero, and he blamed undercover DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena for the raid.
The following year, Camarena was close to uncovering a million-dollar drug pipeline from Mexico to the United States, but before he was able to expose the operation, the federal agent was kidnapped in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, allegedly on direct orders from Caro-Quintero, the FBI said. Camarena’s body, which showed signs of torture, was found a month later, according to the FBI.
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