By Oscar Lopez
New York Times
MEXICO CITY — A drug kingpin convicted of orchestrating the torture and murder of a Drug Enforcement Administration agent was captured in northern Mexico on Friday, according to Mexican officials, bringing a case that has long been a source of tension with the United States one step closer to resolution.
The drug boss, Rafael Caro Quintero, was captured 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, Mexican officials said. Mr. Caro Quintero was found hiding in the bushes by a search dog named Max, according to a statement from the Mexican marines.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said the United States would seek his immediate extradition.
Two warrants had been issued for Mr. Caro Quintero’s arrest, officials said. The former crime lord has been under indictment in federal court in Brooklyn since 2020 on several counts of drug trafficking, according to court records.
Mr. Caro Quintero was convicted of masterminding the 1985 killing of the D.E.A. agent Enrique Camarena, who was known as Kiki, and was placed on the F.B.I.’s 10 most wanted list in 2018, after he had been released in 2013 on a legal technicality. He has been on the run ever since.
In a move that took American authorities by surprise, Mr. Caro Quintero had served 28 years of his 40-year sentence when he was abruptly set free by a judge who ruled that he had been improperly tried in federal court rather than a state court for the murder of Mr. Camarena.
The torture and killing of Mr. Camarena, who had been working undercover, was considered an inflection point in Mexico’s violent war on drug cartels, and has long been a sore spot for U.S. law enforcement officials, as well as a source of friction with Washington.
Mr. Camarena’s brutal murder is considered one of the worst episodes in the history of the D.E.A., and the capture of Mr. Caro Quintero has long been considered within the agency as unfinished business.
“There is no hiding place for anyone who kidnaps, tortures and murders American law enforcement,” Mr. Garland said on Friday in a statement, thanking the Mexican authorities and adding that the arrest was “the culmination of tireless work by D.E.A. and their Mexican partners.”
The capture of the infamous drug boss, who was a founder of the now-defunct Guadalajara Cartel, came just days after President Andrés Manuel López Obrador of Mexico met with President Biden in Washington.
In a joint statement after the meeting, both leaders said they had “reaffirmed our commitment to work together to address major security issues affecting our nations, including the challenges of fentanyl, arms trafficking, and human smuggling.”
Hours after Mr. Caro Quintero was detained, a Black Hawk helicopter crashed outside the nearby city of Los Mochis, killing 14 marines onboard; according to Mexican officials, however, there is no evidence yet to suggest the two incidents were related.
The capture of Mr. Caro Quintero is likely to be viewed as an important victory for Mr. López Obrador, who has presided over one of the bloodiest periods in Mexican history, despite promising to tackle crime and quell violence.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said the United States would seek his immediate extradition.
Two warrants had been issued for Mr. Caro Quintero’s arrest, officials said. The former crime lord has been under indictment in federal court in Brooklyn since 2020 on several counts of drug trafficking, according to court records.
Mr. Caro Quintero was convicted of masterminding the 1985 killing of the D.E.A. agent Enrique Camarena, who was known as Kiki, and was placed on the F.B.I.’s 10 most wanted list in 2018, after he had been released in 2013 on a legal technicality. He has been on the run ever since.
In a move that took American authorities by surprise, Mr. Caro Quintero had served 28 years of his 40-year sentence when he was abruptly set free by a judge who ruled that he had been improperly tried in federal court rather than a state court for the murder of Mr. Camarena.
The torture and killing of Mr. Camarena, who had been working undercover, was considered an inflection point in Mexico’s violent war on drug cartels, and has long been a sore spot for U.S. law enforcement officials, as well as a source of friction with Washington.
Mr. Camarena’s brutal murder is considered one of the worst episodes in the history of the D.E.A., and the capture of Mr. Caro Quintero has long been considered within the agency as unfinished business.
“There is no hiding place for anyone who kidnaps, tortures and murders American law enforcement,” Mr. Garland said on Friday in a statement, thanking the Mexican authorities and adding that the arrest was “the culmination of tireless work by D.E.A. and their Mexican partners.”
The capture of the infamous drug boss, who was a founder of the now-defunct Guadalajara Cartel, came just days after President Andrés Manuel López Obrador of Mexico met with President Biden in Washington.
In a joint statement after the meeting, both leaders said they had “reaffirmed our commitment to work together to address major security issues affecting our nations, including the challenges of fentanyl, arms trafficking, and human smuggling.”
Hours after Mr. Caro Quintero was detained, a Black Hawk helicopter crashed outside the nearby city of Los Mochis, killing 14 marines onboard; according to Mexican officials, however, there is no evidence yet to suggest the two incidents were related.
The capture of Mr. Caro Quintero is likely to be viewed as an important victory for Mr. López Obrador, who has presided over one of the bloodiest periods in Mexican history, despite promising to tackle crime and quell violence.
9 comments:
He ran out of pesos and the only one not on the take is Max...pura raqueta
NewsBreak
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Saturday · July 16, 2022
Brownsville
Brownsville On The Verge Of Mandatory Water Restrictions
Don't take a bath you stink anyway...
Typical US double-standard. Ask John Bolton how many coups the US has orchestrated. It would not be a surprise to find out that the CIA or some other clandestine group had Camarena tortured and killed. We deported criminal Salvadorians and created MS-13. Overthrow Saddam and we get ISIS. A democratically elected leader in Iran is ousted and you get the Ayatollahs. "We the People" is a myth. With gerrymandering, electoral college, Citizens United and election laws being manipulated, we've lost our way. Welcome to oligarchy.
9:14 am. True.
About Camarena, CIA created Mex secret police, DFS. DFS was the protector of this plantation (Rancho Búfalo) of weed. 50/50 on the profits.
JOIN THE CAMPAIGN, VOTE OUT ALL CURRENT CITY AND COUNTY POLITICIANS OUT OF OFFICE!
July 16, 2022 at 8:25 AM
MAX THE DOG!
In the future this will be a legal business and this type of man will be Businessman of the Year.
In the past, coffee was illegal, Tobacco was illegal, alcohol was illegal etc
Many people were killed and now you can buy this items everywhere. You do not kill anybody for this.
Maybe the fentanyl coming in will cull the black criminal population that won't be aborted as much as is necessary. No mo bukee dot calm commercials for white liberals.
Juan will JUSTICE EVER BE SERVED?
I'M ON THE CAMPAIGN TO VOTE OUT ALL CURRENT CITY AND COUNTY POLITICIANS!
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