Mexico extradites to the US/Who is "Rafa", the boss of the Guadalajara cartel who killed the DEA agent?

Mexico handed over one of the most notorious drug lords, Rafael Caro Quintero, and 28 other cartel members to the US.

The US Department of Justice announces that Caro Quintero, whom Mexican authorities consider the founder of the Guadalajara cartel, is suspected of being involved in the kidnapping, torture and murder of US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent Enrique Camarena Salazar in 1985.

According to the DEA, Salazar's killing was in retaliation for a raid by Mexican authorities on a marijuana farm owned by Caro Quinteros in 1984.

Caro Quintero spent 28 years in prison in Mexico for the murder before being released in 2013. The Mexican Supreme Court later overturned his release. After that, he returned to drug trafficking as a top leader of the Sinaloa cartel, according to the FBI.

In July 2022, the Mexican Navy captured Caro Quintero during an operation that ended in the deaths of 14 Marines in a helicopter crash. He was captured after a Navy dog ​​found him hiding in the bushes.

“Caro Quintero, a cartel leader who caused violence, destruction and death throughout the United States and Mexico, has been at the top of the DEA’s most wanted list for four decades. Today, he has finally arrived in the United States, where he will face justice. This moment is deeply personal for DEA agents, who believe Caro Quintero is responsible for the torture and brutal murder of Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena. “This is also a victory for the Camarena family. Today we send a clear message to every cartel leader, every trafficker and every criminal who poisons our communities: You will be held accountable. No matter how long it takes or how far you flee, justice will find you,” said Derek S. Maltz of the DEA.

Mexico's Attorney General's Office and the Secretariat for Security and Citizen Protection stated that 29 people from various prisons in Mexico were transferred to the US.

They were wanted for their links to criminal organizations involved in drug trafficking.

The US Department of Justice announced that those extradited were "drug cartel leaders and managers" , including Sinaloa, Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), Cártel del Noreste (formerly Los Zetas), La Nueva Familia Michoacana and Cártel del Golfo (Zaljevski Cartel). (A2 Televizion)