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EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – The extradition from Mexico of 29 cause suspects connected Thursday had a peculiar meaning for the household of an American hero, erstwhile U.S. Marshal Robert Almonte says.
That’s due to the fact that 1 of the individuals walking disconnected the extradition formation was Rafael Caro Quintero. He was the antheral who allegedly ordered the abduction, torture and execution of erstwhile Drug Enforcement Administration Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena successful Guadalajara successful 1985, Almonte said.
The slaying shocked the American nationalist and exposed the brutality and impunity traffickers seemingly bask southbound of the border.
In this March 8, 1985, record photo, U.S. Marine Corps pallbearers transportation the casket holding the assemblage of slain U.S. Drug Enforcement cause Enrique Camarena Salazar aft it arrived astatine North Island Naval Air Station, successful San Diego. Mexican cause lord Rafael Caro Quintero was lone ever sentenced successful Mexico for the sidesplitting of Camarena and Mexican aviator Alfredo Zavala Avelar successful 1985, but his pack seemingly killed arsenic galore arsenic six U.S. citizens successful the occidental metropolis of Guadalajara astir the aforesaid time. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi, File)“He did a tremendous occupation locating ample marijuana fields and eradicating the marijuana fields with the assistance of a Mexican pilot,” said Almonte, who besides worked arsenic an undercover narcotics detective and is simply a erstwhile lawman main of the El Paso Police Department. "The Guadalajara cartel was precise upset with Kiki Camarena due to the fact that helium was doing specified a large job. So, Caro Quintero ordered the abduction of Kiki Camarena successful wide daylight."
Forty years aft the execution of US Drug Enforcement Administration Agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena, Mexico agreed to the extradition of the cause lord who allegedly had him killed. (DEA)The cause lord allegedly had the DEA cause brought to a location successful the outskirts of Guadalajara. He was tortured nonstop for 36 hours until Caro Quintero allegedly had his men decorativeness him disconnected with a tyre robust to the head.
Trying to walk disconnected the American cause and his aviator arsenic simply missing did not enactment for Caro Quintero and the different leaders of the Guadalajara cartel – Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo and Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo.
President Ronald Reagan ordered a unopen down of the U.S.-Mexico border, impatient with Camarena not being found, Almonte said. The assemblage was located a period aft the cause disappeared and was yet returned to his family. Caro Quintero ended up successful a Mexican jailhouse done 2017.
Students successful Camarena’s autochthonal Calexico, California, began wearing a reddish ribbon to retrieve the agent. Three years later, Ronald and Nancy Reagan chaired the archetypal nationalist Red Ribbon Week to amended the country’s younker to the dangers of consuming amerciable drugs.
“Yesterday was a large day, particularly for the Camarena family. They are yet seeing immoderate agelong overdue justice” with Caro Quintero’s extradition, said Almonte, who keeps successful interaction with the Camarenas. “He was, nary doubt, a hero.”
Caro Quintero connected Friday made his archetypal quality successful beforehand of a national justice successful Brooklyn connected aggregate cause and weapons charges.
‘Mexico could bash more' if it wanted to
The extradition of Caro Quintero, 2 brothers who led the Zetas cause cartel, Fonseca’s nephew Vicente Carrillo Fuentes of the Juarez cartel and 25 others came amid President Donald Trump’s menace of imposing a 25% tariff connected Mexican imports.
Trump says Mexico tin bash much to stem the travel of migrants and illicit drugs similar the deadly fentanyl to the United States. Almonte agrees, astatine slightest with the portion astir the drugs.
“In bid to destruct the cartels, the Mexican authorities has to code thing that is the driving unit down the cartels’ existence, and that is the corruption,” Almonte said. “The corruption from the lowest levels of Mexican instrumentality enforcement each the mode to state, subject and adjacent high-ranking officials. Not until Mexico tries to alteration the civilization of corruption tin thing change.
“Don’t get maine wrong, we person our ain issues with corruption present successful the United States, but obscurity adjacent to the grade they person the occupation of corruption successful Mexico.”
Earlier this period successful El Paso, national officials arrested a U.S. Customs and Border Protection serviceman for allegedly conspiring with a Mexican cause cartel to smuggle migrants and let drugs to travel into the country.
In 2023, a U.S. Border Patrol cause successful El Paso was arrested for allegedly offering to get a Salvadoran pistillate “papers” successful speech for $5,000.
Almonte laments that it takes threats from U.S. presidents – Reagan successful 1985, Trump successful 2025 – for cause lords southbound of the borderline to beryllium arrested oregon extradited. He says the 2 governments should beryllium astatine the array and hold successful bully religion to spell aft criminals that are poisoning truthful galore radical northbound of the Rio Grande and sidesplitting thousands southbound of the border.
"We request to spell aft these cartels, and what’s disappointing to maine is that the archetypal happening (the Mexican government) says is 'We're a sovereign national, you can't come, you can't bash thing successful our country.' How astir not saying that and conscionable moving unneurotic to spell aft the cartels and destruct them," Almonte said. "Let's spell aft these cartels, let's destruct them to marque things amended for the radical successful Mexico and successful the United States."
U.S. instrumentality allows prosecutors to question the decease punishment successful the lawsuit of cause lords who perpetrate oregon bid murders portion conducting organized transgression activities. But Mexico does not person a decease punishment and does not let the extradition of its citizens if they look specified a punishment.
Almonte believes the U.S. won't effort to execute Caro Quintero but volition effort to guarantee helium volition walk the remainder of his beingness successful an American prison.
He besides opined the Trump medication volition not straight onslaught cartel leaders adjacent aft designating them arsenic Foreign Terrorist Organizations due to the fact that helium wants Mexico's cooperation.
When asked what's changed successful the Mexican cause trafficking country since Camarena's killing, Almonte said cartels person multiplied and go overmuch much brutal, if that was possible.
"They are highly brutal sidesplitting each different off. But not lone that. If you’re their enemy, if you transverse them, they’re not conscionable going to termination you, they’re going to torture you -- a horrible torture -- and past they’re going to termination you," helium said. "And past they similar to station these videos online arsenic a informing to anybody who’s going to messiness with them. You don’t privation to messiness with them due to the fact that this is going to hap to you."
