By Steve Neavling
Mexican authorities have extradited drug boss Rafael Caro Quintero to the United States, where he is wanted for the 1985 killing of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Caro Quintero’s extradition comes as the Trump administration pressures Mexico to crack down on fentanyl trafficking. The U.S. has threatened to impose 25% tariffs on Mexican exports if President Claudia Sheinbaum’s government does not strengthen efforts to curb the flow of fentanyl, which kills tens of thousands of Americans each year. Several members of Sheinbaum’s cabinet are in Washington this week to negotiate bilateral cooperation and argue against the tariffs.
Caro Quintero was among 29 Mexican nationals extradited to the U.S. on Thursday, according to Mexico’s security ministry. Two high-ranking leaders of the Zetas cartel, known for carrying out massacres, were also among those handed over.
A former leader of the Guadalajara Cartel, Caro Quintero was convicted in Mexico of kidnapping, torturing, and killing Camarena in 1985. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison for the crime, which strained U.S.-Mexico relations and led to a temporary closure of the border.
In 2013, a Mexican appeals court ruled that his case should have been tried in a state court instead of a federal court, leading to his release. Mexico’s federal government later issued a new arrest warrant, and Caro Quintero spent nearly a decade as a fugitive before being captured in 2022 by an elite unit of the Mexican navy.
The security ministry said the 29 extradited individuals had been detained in various prisons across Mexico and were wanted for crimes including drug trafficking and organized crime.
