Culiacán, Mexico- Rafael Caro Quintero, 69, who was behind the killing of Enrique “Kiki” Camarena Salazar, a United States (US) Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent who was working undercover in Mexico in 1985, has been captured.
Quintero was captured by a dog named Max in a joint operation involving the Mexican marines and the country’s Prosecutor’s Office near the town of San Simón in the state of Sinaloa, hiding in the brushwood.
A very short video segment released by the navy showed Quintero, his face blurred, dressed in jeans, a soaking wet blue shirt and a baggy khaki jacket held in both arms by men wearing camouflage uniforms and carrying assault rifles.
Prior to the arrest, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had previously placed him on its 10 most wanted list in 2018 and the DEA had offered a US$20 million reward for his capture.
Quintero walked free in 2013 after 28 years in prison when a court overturned his 40-year sentence for the 1985 kidnapping and killing of Kiki.
The capture of the infamous drug boss, who was a founder of the now-defunct Guadalajara Cartel, comes just days after President Andrés Manuel López Obrador met with US President, Joe Biden in Washington.
In a joint statement after the meeting, both leaders said they had reaffirmed their commitment to working together to address major security issues affecting both nations, including the challenges of fentanyl, arms trafficking, and human smuggling.
US Attorney-General Merrick Garland said on Friday that the US would seek the extradition of Quintero, who has been indicted on drug charges.
“There is no hiding place for anyone who kidnaps, tortures, and murders American law enforcement,” said the Attorney-General.
In addition, DEA administrator Anne Milgram said Quintero’s arrest was as a result of years of blood, sweat and tears.
“For more than 30 years, the men and women of DEA have worked tirelessly to bring Caro Quintero to justice. Today’s arrest is the result of years of your blood, sweat, and tears. Without your work, Caro Quintero would not face justice,” said Milgram.
The Guadalajara drug cartel, which was powerful in the 1980s, is considered the forefather of modern Mexican drug cartels.
It was one of the first to establish contacts with Colombian drug lords to transport cocaine from the South American country to the US.
The cartel’s other founders, Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo and Ernesto Fonseca Carillo were also handed long prison sentences in Mexico for Kiki’s murder. The organization’s disappearance led to the rise of the powerful Sinaloa drug cartel led by Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. In 2017, Mexico extradited Guzman to the US where he is serving a life sentence.
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