Day of glory and drama in Mexico, against a backdrop of cooperation welcomed by the United States: the army announced on Friday July 15 the arrest of the historic drug trafficker most wanted by Washington, but also the death of 14 soldiers in an accident helicopter, on the sidelines of the operation according to the Mexican president.
Rafael Caro Quintero, 69, was arrested by Mexican Navy agents in Sinaloa state, western Mexico. All the news channels in the country immediately interrupted their programs to announce this capture.
The sequel after the ad
–
Organized crime: Mexico passes the bar of 100,000 missing people
The native drug trafficker of Sinaloa, cradle of many “capos”, is one of the three founders in the 70s of the Guadalajara cartel, the matrix of future organized crime companies which still transport drugs to the American market in 2022.
On the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list
The case was closely followed on the other side of the Rio Grande-Rio Bravo: the American anti-drug agency (DEA) had offered 20 million dollars for his capture, a record, just like the FBI, which had placed Caro Quintero on his list of the 10 most wanted fugitives.
The dispute with the United States dates back 37 years: Caro Quintero is accused of having participated in the 1985 kidnapping, torture and assassination of an agent of the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration, the federal agency for United States which fights against drug trafficking), Enrique Camarena.
Of Mexican origin, “Kiki” Camarena had infiltrated the Guadalajara cartel, which made him bear the responsibility for the destruction of 2,500 hectares of marijuana in 1984.
The sequel after the ad
–
“Project Cartel”: “In Mexico, drug traffickers have infiltrated all spheres of the State”
Upon official confirmation of his arrest, the Biden administration requested the“immediate extradition” of Caro Quintero, to answer before the American justice of his “alleged crimes”.
In the most secure prison in Mexico
“Today’s arrest is the culmination of the tireless work of the DEA and its Mexican partners”, underlines the press release of the American Minister of Justice, Merrick Garland. Mexican newspapers regularly mention the continued presence of American agents on Mexican territory.
For now, Caro Quintero will be transferred to the Altiplano prison, the most secure in Mexico, located near the capital Mexico City, and then be heard by a judge, said the Mexican public prosecutor’s office.
READ ALSO > Sicario: Conversation with a Mexican Cartel Assassin
The sequel after the ad
–
That same Friday afternoon, the Navy announced the death of 14 soldiers in the accident of a Black Hawk helicopter “whose cause is unknown”, also in the state of Sinaloa. The Navy initially dismissed any link with the arrest of Caro Quintero, the same day in the same region.
Hours later, however, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said all 14 servicemen died. “after fulfilling their mission to support those who carried out the arrest order issued against Rafael Caro Quintero”.
Released in 2013 for a matter of form
The President announced the opening of an investigation to determine “the causes of the helicopter crash” who was about to land, in a condolence message on Twitter.
Arrested for the first time in 1985 in Costa Rica, Caro Quintero was tried and sentenced in Mexico to 40 years in prison.
The sequel after the ad
–
A judge had released him in 2013 for a question of legal form.
READ ALSO > Mexico: the narcos sow terror in the villages
Mexican justice had again requested his capture, under pressure from the United States, which relentlessly demanded his arrest and extradition in the “Kiki” Camarena case, as well as for drug trafficking.
“There is nowhere to hide for those who abduct, torture or murder US law enforcement officials”insisted Merrick Garland in his press release.
The sequel after the ad
–
“I did not kidnap him, I did not torture him, I did not kill him”defended Caro Quintero in an interview from hiding with the weekly Proceso in July 2016. “I was at the scene of the crime, it’s my only participation”.
Three narco bosses detained
In popular culture, Caro Quintero is one of the main characters in the series “Narcos Mexico” which traces in detail the formation of the Guadalajara Cartel, the DEA’s secret war in Mexico, the torture and assassination of the Officer Camarena.
Guadalajara cartel leader Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo, arrested in 1989, is serving a 40-year prison sentence for the murder of “Kiki” Camarena. Ill, he denied any involvement in an interview a year ago. The third founder, Ernesto Fonseca Carillo, has been serving his sentence under house arrest for a few years because of his age (80 or 91 depending on the sources).
–
