Caro Quintero arrested in Mexico; wanted by U.S. in 1985 murder of DEA agent
Since then, Caro Quintero’s recapture has been an obsession for the DEA and a top priority for successive U.S. administrations. In 2020, then-attorney general William P. Barr urged Mexico’s government to track down the drug chief in a reciprocal gesture as the Trump administration dropped narcotics charges against former defense minister Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda and sent him back to Mexico, according to several officials. But Caro Quintero repeatedly escaped as agents closed in.
“There are hundreds of [DEA] agents that went to Mexico to defend the national security of this country, but also to bring RCQ to justice,” said Terry Cole, a retired DEA agent who served in Mexico.
After Caro Quintero was released in 2013, Mexico issued a new arrest warrant for him.
American authorities had offered a $20 million award for information leading to Caro Quintero’s arrest, and he was on the FBI and DEA lists of most wanted fugitives. His detention Friday came days after President Andrés Manuel López Obrador met President Biden at the White House. Mexico has recently sharply stepped up its anti-drug efforts, particularly against producers of the deadly opioid fentanyl.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland expressed thanks to the Mexican government on Friday, saying the arrest was “the culmination of tireless work by DEA and their Mexican partners.” He added that American authorities would seek Caro Quintero’s immediate extradition. He faces cocaine-trafficking charges in New York, where he would likely be tried, officials said.
“There is no hiding place for anyone who kidnaps, tortures, and murders American law enforcement,” Garland said.
Mexican Marine special forces, aided by U.S. intelligence, captured the drug lord in Choix municipality in Sinaloa state, according to Mexican officials and two former U.S. officials privy to the details. One, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss operational information, said Caro Quintero had been traveling with a small group of bodyguards and was in a wooded area. He was sniffed out by a dog named Max working with the Marines, according to a statement from the Mexican Navy.
Hours after the capture, a Mexican military helicopter crashed near Los Mochis, Sinaloa, in an apparent accident, killing 14 Marines, according to Mexican and U.S. officials. The newspaper Reforma, citing unidentified Navy sources, reported that the Marines had helped in the hunt for Caro Quintero.
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