Rafael Caro Quintero, a notorious drug dealer on the FBI’s 10 most wanted list, was detained on Friday in an operation that ended in tragedy when 14 Marines who helped in his capture died in a helicopter crash, Navy officials said. mexican.
According to Mexican authorities, the drug trafficker was detained by marines after he was found hiding in bushes by a Navy dog in the city of San Simón, in the northwestern state of Sinaloa.
Caro Quintero, known as the “narco of drug traffickers”, is considered by the Mexican authorities to be the founder of the Guadalajara cartel. He is accused of trafficking mainly methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine and marijuana.
A Mexican Navy Black Hawk helicopter crashed in Los Mochis, Sinaloa after the operation to capture it, according to a statement. Another Marine was wounded and remains in hospital. The cause of the accident is still unknown and an investigation will be carried out, the document added.
The drug lord, whose exact age is unknown but believed to be in his 60s, is wanted by US authorities for allegedly kidnapping and plotting to murder Special Agent Enrique Salazar of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in 1985. US drug enforcement agency.
Salazar was kidnapped, tortured and murdered in retaliation for a seizure of Caro Quintero’s marijuana farm by Mexican authorities, according to the DEA. The events are featured in the Netflix drama “Narcos: Mexico”.
Caro Quintero spent 28 years in prison in Mexico for his role in the murder before being released on a technicality in 2013. The Mexican Supreme Court later overturned the decision that released him.
The fugitive returned to drug trafficking as a leader of the Sinaloa cartel, according to the FBI.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland said on Friday that the US will seek the immediate extradition of Caro Quintero. “There is no hiding place for those who kidnap, torture and murder American police,” said Garland.
In 2018, US authorities announced a $20 million reward for Caro Quintero. The drug lord had previously said that attempts to arrest him were “inappropriate revenge” and attempts to “conveniently rewrite history”.
Mexico-based DEA agents worked with Mexican authorities to locate and arrest Quintero, administrator Anne Milgram said in a note Friday night.
“For more than 30 years, the men and women of the DEA have worked tirelessly to bring Caro Quintero to justice,” Milgram said. “Today’s arrest is the result of years of your blood, sweat and tears. Without her work, Caro Quintero would not face justice.”
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m James Harper, a highly experienced and accomplished news writer for World Stock Market. I have been writing in the Politics section of the website for over five years, providing readers with up-to-date and insightful information about current events in politics. My work is widely read and respected by many industry professionals as well as laymen.
