By NAN Staff Writer
News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. June 15, 2018: A Mexican national wanted for his alleged involvement in the kidnapping and murder of a US DEA special agent has been added to the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” List.
Rafael Caro-Quintero is the 518th addition to the list. He is wanted for the 1995 kidnapping and killing of DEA Special Agent Enrique Camarena Salazar, a.k.a “Kiki.” The Department of State’s Narcotics Rewards Program is also offering a reward of up to $20 million for information leading to his arrest and/or conviction.
This is the first time a DEA fugitive has been listed on the FBI Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List. In addition, the DEA and the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York this week announced the unsealing of an additional indictment against Quintero, alleging his role as leader of a continuing criminal enterprise and the individual responsible for the brutal murder of Camarena.
Special Agent Camarena – a former Marine, fireman, police officer, and deputy sheriff – was extremely close to unlocking a million-dollar drug pipeline from Mexico to the U.S. in 1985. Before he was able to expose the drug-trafficking operations, he was kidnapped en route to lunch with his wife on February 7, 1985, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Allegedly, the direct orders for the kidnapping came from Caro-Quintero. Camarena was surrounded by five armed men who threw him into a car, then sped away. It is believed that Camarena died within two to three days of his kidnapping, but his body was not found until March 5, 1985. Special Agent Camarena is survived by his wife and three sons.
The indictment also details his leadership role in trafficking methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine and marijuana into the United States and elsewhere and reflects his criminal activities from 1980 to 2017.
Caro-Quintero is widely regarded as one of the Mexican “godfathers” of drug trafficking, and helped to form the Guadalajara Cartel in the late 1970s. Allegedly, he became one of the primary suppliers of heroin, cocaine, and marijuana to the U.S., and was in charge of the cartel in Costa Rica and the U.S./Mexico border.
Caro-Quintero replaces Jesus Roberto Munguia on the “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” list.
Tips may also be directed 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or online at tips.fbi.gov.
