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29 top cartel operatives, including notorious drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, who is behind the killing of a DEA agent in 1985, are now in U.S. custody. Among those turned over to American authorities were also security chiefs from both factions of the Sinaloa drug cartel.
Rafael Caro Quintero, a founding member of the Sinaloa drug cartel and at one point a member of the FBI’s most wanted list with a $20 million reward for his capture, had previously been convicted in Mexico of masterminding the 1985 murder of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena. Another cartel member that was handed over the American authorities, Martin Sotelo, is alleged to have participated in the 2022 murder of Deputy Sheriff Ned Byrd.
FBI
“This moment is extremely personal for the men and women of DEA who believe Caro Quintero is responsible for the brutal torture and murder of DEA Special Agent Enrique ‘Kiki’ Camarena,” said DEA Acting Administrator Derek S. Maltz. “It is also a victory for the Camarena family. Today sends a message to every cartel leader, every trafficker, every criminal poisoning our communities: You will be held accountable. No matter how long it takes, no matter how far you run, justice will find you.”
Rafael Caro Quintero had been released from prison in 2013 after 28 years when a court overturned his 40-year sentence. The Supreme Court would go on to uphold his prison sentence, but by then he was in the wind and almost immediately returned to drug trafficking.
He was later captured in 2022 (pictured above) and arrested for extradition in the town of San Simon in Sinaloa state, according to the Associated Press, after a search dog named “Max” found him hiding in some brush. Coincidentally, his capture and arrest came just days after Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador met with U.S. President Joe Biden in the White House
All 29 of the drug cartel members that were turned over to the United States this week face a maximum of life imprisonment. Six of them, including Rafael Caro Quintero, also are facing the death penalty.
“We will prosecute these criminals to the fullest extent of the law in honor of the brave law enforcement agents who have dedicated their careers — and in some cases, given their lives — to protect innocent people from the scourge of violent cartels,” U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. “We will not rest until we secure justice for the American people.”