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On July 15, suspected Mexican drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero was arrested for allegedly arranging the 1985 murder of Kiki Camarena, an intelligence officer for the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
According to BBC, 69-year-old Rafael Caro Quintero was one of the founders of the Guadalajara cartel, which dominated the illegal drug trade along the border of America and Mexico for several decades before its recent decline.
Rafael Caro Quintero was initially arrested in 1985 for the murder of Enrique Camerena, who was investigating cartel activity. However, a Mexican court cut short Quintero's 40-year sentence by 12 years, leading to his 2013 release.
While BBC reported that the ruling was later overturned by the Mexican supreme court, it was too late, as Quintero had begun life as a fugitive by then and reportedly resumed his drug trafficking activities while in hiding.
A timeline of Rafael Caro Quintero's career in drug trading
Rafael Caro Quintero was born in Sinaloa, Mexico, to parents who subsisted on farming. After the death of his father in 1964, 14-year-old Rafael worked a series of menial jobs to support his family.
As per CNN Mexico, Quintero joined the drug trade as a teenager, when he reportedly began to grow and traffic marijuana. Within five years, his wealth allegedly skyrocketed, making him a respected figure in the Mexican underworld.
In the late 1970s, Quintero amassed enough influence among drug traffickers and allegedly formed the Guadalajara cartel with his criminal associates. The Los Angeles Times described the organization as a "pioneer" in the Mexican drug trade, introducing a scale and sophistication that had not been seen in the past.
Quintero found himself on the radar of American law enforcement agencies not only for his alleged drug trafficking, but also the murders of at least three American citizens.
As per El Economista, in January 1985, Quintero was accused of ordering his associates to abduct and torture two Americans who had accidentally walked into a Guadalajara cartel party. American authorities believe that Quintero mistook them for undercover DEA officers.
The two Americans, writer John Clay Walker and dentistry student Albert Radelat, were abducted and tortured over a long period of time. Radelat is thought to have been buried alive.
Quintero's arrest, however, came about due to the high profile murder of Enrique "Kiki" Camarena, who was a nuisance for the cartel throughout the 1980s. Much like Walker and Radelat, Camarena was also believed to have been tortured and interrogated over a long period of time.
Rafael Caro Quintero is currently awaiting extradition to America. Authorities noted that while Quintero's influence on the drug trade has waned, the arrest has value in that it shows that criminals will face consequences no matter what.
