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Mexico captures infamous drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero

July 16, 2022

The co-founder of the Guadalajara cartel was on the FBI's Most Wanted list for murdering a US agent. His rise to prominence was dramatized in the Netflix series "Narcos: Mexico."

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A photo from the arrest of Rafael Caro Quintero. His face, and the faces of law enforcement oficers, have been blurred.
Mexican naval officers found Rafael Caro Quintero on Friday amid thick scrubImage: Mexican Navy/REUTERS

The Mexican military captured notorious drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero on Friday after he spent five years on the FBI's Most Wanted List for the torture and murder of an American anti-narcotics agent in 1985.

Who is Rafael Caro Quintero?

Caro Quintero spent 28 years in prison for the murder of Enrique "Kiki" Camarena and other crimes but walked free on a technicality in 2013. He quickly returned to drug trafficking and was named one of the FBI's 10 Most Wanted Fugitives with a bounty of $20 million (€19.8 million) — the highest amount on the list.

The kingpin co-founded the Guadalajara cartel, one of Latin America's most powerful drug trafficking organizations during the 1980s, which also remains active today. His escapades were dramatized in the 2018 Netflix series "Narcos: Mexico."

"It is probably one of the most important captures of the last decade in terms of importance to the DEA," said Mike Vigil, a former chief of international operations with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

An FBI wanted poster for Rafael Caro Quintero featuring four old mugshots.
Rafael Caro Quintero was added to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list in 2018Image: FBI/AP/picture alliance

US Attorney General Merrick Garland said he was "deeply grateful" to Mexican law enforcement for arresting Caro Quintero.

"There is no hiding place for anyone who kidnaps, tortures, and murders American law enforcement," he added.

Fatal helicopter crash during operation

Just hours after Caro Quintero's arrest, a Mexican navy Blackhawk helicopter carrying 15 people crashed in the drug lord's home state of Sinaloa. The accident killed 14 people on board.

In a statement on Twitter, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador expressed his condolences to the families of the 14 dead service people.

He confirmed that they were supporting the operation to find and capture Caro Quintero.

The crash site of a Mexican navy Blackhawk helicopter in Sinaloa.
A Mexican navy Blackhawk helicopter crashed after returning from the mission, killing 14 of 15 people on boardImage: REUTERS

The war on drugs continues

Vigil, the former DEA boss, said the arrest "will hopefully start to mend the frayed relationship between the United States and Mexico in terms of combating drug trafficking."

Cecilia Duarte, an activist in the neighboring state of Sonora who works with a team of volunteers to locate clandestine graves of the disappeared, said Caro Quintero's capture could help pacify the Guadalajara cartel's turf wars with the sons of "El Chapo."

"I believe in Sonora, in general, there could be calm, and yes, relief for us, because I believe the disappearances will diminish,'' Duarte said.

But she added that Caro Quintero is just one figure in Mexico's bloody war on drugs. "The conflict doesn't end," she said.

zc/wd (AP, AFP)