A combined legal task force has apprehended Rafael Caro Quintero, whose involvement in the 1985 murder and torture of a US anti-drug agent was documented in the Netflix drama series Narcos: Mexico. Quintero was a founding member of the Guadalajara Cartel, which was regarded as one of Mexico’s most potent drug trafficking groups in the 1980s.
The early years of the Mexican drug cartels were the centre of the Netflix series. From a haphazardly organised gang of growers and dealers to a sophisticated multinational corporation, several factions united and expanded operations. Tenoch Huerta played Quintero in the television show.
In 2013, an appeals court reversed the judgement against Caro Quintero, but the Supreme Court upheld the sentence. Caro Quintero was abducted and taken away in a waiting vehicle since it was already too late.
He was wanted by the FBI, and the State Department’s Narcotics Rewards Program offered a $20 million reward for his capture. 2018 saw the addition of his name to the FBI’s top ten most wanted list.
On the Netflix original series Narcos: Mexico, which debuted in November 2018 and explored the history of Mexico’s drug trade, actor Tenoch Huerta played Caro Quintero. Kiki Camarena was portrayed by Michael Pea in the drama series.
Agent Kiki Camarena of the Drug Enforcement Administration was murdered and tortured by the deadly gang. On the list of those found guilty in the death was Caro Quintero.
A Mexican judge granted Caro Quintero’s 2013 parole on a technicality after 28 years in prison for the murder of Camarena, embarrassing the previous administration. Then, according to US authorities, he disappeared and allegedly joined the Sinaloa Cartel to resume drug trafficking. He was one of the top ten most wanted fugitives according to the FBI, and he had a record-breaking $20 million bounty placed on his head as a narcotics dealer.
According to Mike Vigil, the DEA’s former chief of international operations, “it is certainly one of the most significant captures of the previous ten years.”
Caro Quintero’s arrest was applauded by the US administration, which has asked for his extradition. Juan Gonzalez, a senior adviser for Latin America at the White House, tweeted, “This is enormous.”
Caro Quintero was apprehended, according to the Mexican Navy, in the town of Choix in the state of Sinaloa, which is one of the hubs of Mexico’s drug trade. According to the Navy, a female bloodhound with military training named Max discovered him in a bush area.