Mexico: Mexico's Navy on Friday arrested drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, after he was convicted of the 1985 murder of a US anti-narcotics agent. in a law enforcement coup that crashed a helicopter used in the mission in which 14 military personnel were killed.
Before the Black Hawk helicopter came down, the Marines took out Caro Quintero with a Bloodhound in a remote corner of the northwestern state of Sinaloa one of Mexico's drug-trafficking heartlands.
Caro Quintero rose to prominence in the 1980s as a co-founder of the Guadalajara Cartel, one of Latin America's most powerful drug-trafficking organizations, and was one of the most sought-after targets for American authorities.
The US government praised the arrest and said it would request his extradition as soon as possible.Juan Gonzalez, senior White House Latin America adviser, said on Twitter "This is huge"
According to the Navy Caro Quintero was captured in San Simon, Sinaloa, when a military-trained female Bloodhound named Max discovered her in the bushy lands.
According to a Mexican official the arrests took place the same week that President Andres Manuel López Obrador met with his US counterpart Joe Biden in Washington.
López Obrador said on Twitter that the Navy would investigate what caused the helicopter crash in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, which killed 14 and seriously injured one. They claimed that it was carrying military personnel who were assisting the team to nab the kingpin.
Caro Quintero was sentenced to 28 years in prison for the brutal murder of former US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena, in one of Mexico's most infamous narco wars. The events that took place theatrically in the 2018 Netflix series Narcos: Mexico marked a low point in US-Mexico cooperation in the five-decade-long "War on Drugs."
Caro Quintero has previously denied any involvement in Camarena's death.
A Mexican judge released Caro Quintero in 2013 on a technicality. According to US officials, he quickly went underground and returned to smuggling, and was placed on the FBI's top 10 most wanted fugitives list with a US$20 million bounty on his head, a record for a drug smuggler. .
"This is perhaps one of the most important captures in terms of importance to the DEA in the last decade," said Mike Vigil, DEA's former head of international operations.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland said Caro Quintero's extradition would be sought immediately.
"Whoever kidnaps, tortures or murders US law enforcement will find no asylum." "We are grateful to the Mexican authorities for capturing and apprehending Rafael Caro Quintero," Garland said in a statement.
Caro Quintero will be held in Mexico's Altiplano prison before being extradited, according to Mexican prosecutors. The peninsula is famous for the location from where his former Sinaloa cartel ally Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán fled in 2015.
While 69-year-old Caro Quintero is no longer considered a major player in international drug trafficking, his capture is likely to have a significant symbolic impact on both sides of the border.
Despite recent skirmishes over security, Mexican security expert Alejandro Hope believes the arrests demonstrate important cooperation between the two countries. "Without the involvement of the DEA, this type of capture is unthinkable," he said.
Mexico's refusal to extradite Caro Quintero to the United States before being released from prison has long been a source of contention between the two countries. According to a US official, Washington is eager to extradite him.
Vigil, a former DEA official, said, "Hopefully, this will begin to improve the deteriorating relationship between the United States and Mexico in combating drug trafficking."
Military helicopter crashes, 14 marines killed in Mexico
Mayor here married a crocodile, thousands of people gathered to see
