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NEW YORK — In a significant development, cartel figures Rafael Caro Quintero and Vicente Carrillo Fuentes are scheduled to face arraignment in a U.S. federal court in New York City on Friday, following their unexpected transfer from Mexico.
These two individuals were part of a larger group of 29 Mexican inmates transported to various cities in the United States.
Caro Quintero, known as a former leader of the Guadalajara cartel, is infamously recognized for orchestrating the murder of a U.S. DEA agent in 1985 and had been included on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. Carrillo Fuentes, on the other hand, is acknowledged as a former chief of the Juarez drug cartel, which has also been heavily implicated in drug trafficking and violence.
The upcoming court appearance will take place in Brooklyn, within the Eastern District of New York, a venue previously noted for prosecuting high-profile drug lords, including Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, who has been sentenced to life imprisonment.
In a statement leading up to the arraignments, the White House labeled Caro Quintero as “one of the most evil cartel bosses in the world.”
The statement emphasized the Trump Administration’s classification of these individuals as terrorists, asserting the administration’s commitment to seeking accountability for American citizens.
This handover unfolds amidst ongoing discussions between Mexican officials and the Trump administration, particularly focused on dissuading the imposition of 25% tariffs on all Mexican imports. The U.S. government had previously insisted that Mexico intensify its measures against cartels, illegal immigration, and the production of fentanyl in exchange for postponing such tariffs.
Additional extradited individuals are significant members of several Mexican organized crime groups recently designated as “foreign terrorist organizations” by the Trump administration. This includes key leaders, security heads from both factions of the Sinaloa cartel, and individuals tied to various criminal acts, including the killing of a North Carolina sheriff’s deputy in 2022.
Notably, Carrillo Fuentes is the sibling of renowned drug lord Amado Carrillo Fuentes, also known as “The Lord of The Skies,” who died during a botched plastic surgery in 1997.
Meanwhile, Caro Quintero remains one of the U.S.’s most wanted targets for extradition, having previously served 28 years in a Mexican prison. He was released after a court annulled his 40-year sentence for the 1985 abduction and murder of U.S. DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena. This particular crime is often cited as a nadir in U.S.-Mexico relations and has been dramatized in the Netflix series “Narcos: Mexico.”
Upon his release, Caro Quintero returned to the drug trade, leading to violent turf wars in the northern Mexican border state of Sonora until his arrest by Mexican authorities in 2022. Following his capture, the U.S., having once offered a $20 million reward for his apprehension, quickly pursued his extradition.
The extradition request, however, faced delays during the administration of then-Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who had limited cooperation with the U.S. due to concerns over undercover U.S. operations targeting Mexican officials.
A renewed effort toward extradition gained momentum when, in January, a nonprofit representing the Camarena family urged the Trump administration to revive the extradition requests for Caro Quintero.
Source
abcnews.go.com