The notorious leader of a cartel is expected to face justice. Luc Cohen, reporting from New York for Reuters, shares that Rafael Caro Quintero, identified as a key figure in a cartel and having served decades in a Mexican prison for the killing of a DEA agent, is scheduled to appear in U.S. federal court on Friday to face charges related to trafficking, as disclosed by a source with knowledge of the situation. Mexico has recently extradited Caro Quintero along with 28 other alleged members of cartels in what marks the largest extradition in a decade for the country. This development comes amidst threats by U.S. President Donald Trump to enforce a 25 percent tariff on Mexican products beginning on March 4 due to what his administration perceives as insufficient efforts to combat the flow of fentanyl and migrants. Among those extradited are both aging leaders like Caro Quintero, a 72-year-old co-founder of the Guadalajara Cartel who once dominated Mexico’s criminal landscape, and younger leaders involved in recent large-scale trafficking of lethal fentanyl into the United States. The Guadalajara Cartel was previously recognized as one of the most influential drug organizations in Latin America. Caro Quintero had previously served 28 years in a Mexican prison for the murder of former DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, a significant event in Mexico’s violent drug conflicts. Despite denying any role in Camarena’s death and being released in 2013 on a legal technicality, he was indicted in 2020 in a Brooklyn federal court on charges related to drug trafficking and weapons possession, subsequently recaptured by Mexican authorities in 2022. Upon his arrest, former U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland expressed, “Today’s arrest is the culmination of tireless work by DEA and their Mexican partners to bring Caro Quintero to justice for his alleged crimes.” Caro Quintero is set to appear in the same Brooklyn courthouse where Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was convicted on drug trafficking charges in 2019, currently serving a life sentence in a high-security prison in Colorado. Also set to appear in Brooklyn federal court on the same day is Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, the alleged head of the Juarez Cartel, facing charges since 2019 for drug trafficking and ordering assassinations of rival cartel members. The other individuals extradited alongside Caro Quintero are facing charges in federal courts across various states, including Manhattan, Texas, Illinois, California, Arizona, North Carolina, and Washington, D.C. Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, accused of co-founding the Sinaloa Cartel alongside Guzman, is also awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges in Brooklyn federal court, with his legal representative indicating a willingness to plead guilty to avoid the death penalty, as shared with Reuters earlier this week.
