[ad_1]
The former leader of a Mexican cartel, thought responsible for the 1985 death of a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent in the 1980s, was among 29 defendants extradited to the United States Thursday.
Rafael Caro Quintero has spent years on the DEA’s most wanted list and is now in U.S. custody, expected to be arraigned in New York Friday.
“Caro Quintero, a cartel kingpin who unleashed violence, destruction, and death across the United States and Mexico, has spent four decades atop DEA’s most wanted fugitives list, and today we can proudly say he has arrived in the United States where justice will be served,” DEA Acting Administrator Derek S. Maltz said in a press release.
Why It Matters
The extradition of Caro Quintero and the other alleged cartel members comes amid tensions between the Trump administration and Mexico over impending tariffs set to be imposed on March 4. President Donald Trump has said these are a result of failures by the Mexican and Canadian governments to tackle the flow of lethal fentanyl into the U.S.
That Mexico agreed to extradite Caro Quintero and more than two dozen other notorious cartel members is a sign that that President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration is willing to work with the Trump administration on some aspects of its immigration and drug crackdown.
FBI, GDA via AP, File
What To Know
In an announcement Thursday night, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said the 29 defendants were facing charges relating to drug-trafficking, murder, and money laundering, among other crimes. Some had been wanted for years, even decades, but extradition requests had gone ignored, the department said.
Some of those on the list were members and leaders of the six cartels recently designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) by the Trump administration, including the Sinaloa Cartel, Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), Cártel del Noreste (formerly Los Zetas), La Nueva Familia Michoacana, and Cártel de Golfo (Gulf Cartel).
Who Is Rafael Caro Quintero?
Caro Quintero was the founder of the Guadalajara Cartel, which was one of the most powerful drug cartels during the 1980s.
He was seen as one of the pioneers of the drug trade in Mexico, with court documents seen by Newsweek describing his cartel as “a vast network” that manufactured and imported narcotics, namely heroin, methamphetamine, and marijuana from Mexico into the U.S.
According to court documents, Caro Quintero and the other Guadalajara leaders employed hitmen, or sicarios, who “carried out numerous acts of violence, including murders, assaults, kidnappings and acts of torture”.
The cartel eventually splintered, with one of the factions growing into the Sinaloa Cartel, which was recently designated as an FTO by the Trump administration.
Who Was Enrique “Kiki” Camarena Salazar?
The U.S. DOJ believes Car Quintero was one of those responsible for the death of DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena Salazar in early 1985.
Salazar, 37, was working undercover for the DEA in the early 1980s and was suspected of leading Mexican authorities to a ranch run by Caro Quintero where marijuana was being grown, which they then burned.
Caro Quintero and others then allegedly sought revenge, kidnapping Salazar and torturing him, before killing him.
Acting DEA administrator Maltz said in his statement Thursday that Caro Quintero’s extradition would be “extremely personal” for those working at the agency and for Salazar’s family.
Caro Quintero Served Jail Time in Mexico
The cartel leader was convicted over his role in Salazar’s death in Mexico and spent 28 years of his 40-year sentence in prison, before his release in 2013 on a technicality.
A lower court judge said he had been incorrectly tried in the federal court system, when he should have been tried at the state level. Mexico’s Supreme Court later overturned that ruling, but Caro Quintero had already disappeared.
During the previous Trump administration, in 2018, officials announced a $20 million reward for information regarding the fugitive’s whereabouts. He was then added to the FBI‘s Top 10 Most Wanted list.
Caro Quintero was then re-arrested by Mexican authorities in 2022. The country’s attorney general said at the time that he was arrested for extradition and he would be held in a maximum security prison near Mexico City pending his removal to the U.S.
What People Are Saying
Attorney General Pamela Bondi, in a statement: “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. We will not rest until we secure justice for the American people.”
FBI Director Kash Patel, in a statement: “The FBI and our partners will scour the ends of the earth to bring terrorists and cartel members to justice. The era of harming Americans and walking free is over.”
Mexico’s Attorney General and Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection, in a statement: “The custody, transfer and formal delivery of these persons is carried out under institutional protocols with due respect for their fundamental rights, in accordance with our Constitution and the National Security Law and at the request of the Department of Justice of the United States. This action is part of the work of coordination, cooperation and bilateral reciprocity, within the framework of respect for the sovereignty of both nations.”
What Next for Caro Quintero?
The former cartel leader is facing multiple charges, including drug trafficking and conspiracy to murder, in the Eastern District of New York. Reports suggested he would be arraigned Friday in Brooklyn.
According to the DOJ, Caro Quintero could face life in prison or the death penalty, if he is found guilty.
The potential death sentence comes after President Trump signed an executive order looking to restore the punishment.
[ad_2]
Source link