The end of a long hunt. A historic Mexican drug trafficker, who is among the ten most wanted fugitives by the United States, was arrested on Friday in Mexico and Washington has requested his extradition.
Rafael Caro Quintero was detained by Navy agents in the state of Chihuahua, Mexican media reported. A source from the Ministry of the Navy confirmed the arrest to AFP, refusing to give details.
“There is no place to hide”
Quintero, 69, was on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list for the kidnapping, torture and murder of US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) agent Kiki Camarena in Mexico in 1985, according to the FBI. Washington had offered $20 million for his capture.
The United States Department of Justice welcomed his arrest on Friday night and called for his extradition to the United States.
“There is nowhere to hide for those who kidnap, torture or murder American law enforcement officers,” Minister Merrick Garland said in a statement.
The Mexican is one of the founding members of the first major drug cartel, Guadalajara, in the late 1970s.
“He retains an influential position in the Sinaloa Cartel and the Caro-Quintero drug trafficking organization,” according to the FBI.
14 dead soldiers
However, the arrest was marked by a drama: on Friday, on the sidelines of the operation, 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 ruled out any link with the arrest of Caro Quintero, the same day in the same region.
Hours later, however, the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, said that the 14 soldiers died “after fulfilling their mission of supporting those who executed the arrest warrant issued against Rafael Caro Quintero.”
Released in 2013
First arrested in 1985, Quintero was tried and sentenced in Mexico to 40 years in prison.
A judge released him in 2013 due to a legal problem. Shortly after, the Mexican justice had returned to request the capture of him.
The United States had also requested his arrest and extradition for the kidnapping and murder of Enrique “Kiki” Camarena as well as for drug trafficking.
“I did not kidnap him, I did not torture him, I did not kill him,” he defended himself in an interview from the hideout with the weekly Proceso in July 2016. “I was at the crime scene, it is my only participation.”
Rafael Caro Quintero is one of the main characters in the series “Narcos México” that narrates in detail the formation of the Guadalajara Cartel, the DEA’s secret war in Mexico, the arrest, torture and murder of agent Camerana.
The head of the Guadalajara cartel, Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, has been in prison since 1989 for the murder of Kiki Camarena. He denies his involvement.
Source: BFM TV
