Caro Quintero and Vicente Carrillo Fuentes ‘El Viceroy’, in addition to El Mayo, no longer facing the death penalty.

 CHAR 

Author | Ríodoce Editorial Team

Date | August 5, 2025

Time | 2:08 pm

After it was announced that Ismael El Mayo Zambada would not face the death penalty, it was immediately revealed that Rafael Caro Quintero and Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, alias El Viceroy, had also requested to be spared capital punishment.

All three are on trial in the United States, and for months they have been negotiating with the US government to be spared the death penalty.

The most surprising case was that of Caro Quintero, because he is accused of several crimes, including the kidnapping and murder of US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent “Kiki” Camarena in 1985.

"Dear Judge Block: United States v. Rafael Caro Quintero, Criminal Case No. 15-208 (S-3) (FB). The government respectfully submits this letter to inform the Court and the defense that the Attorney General has authorized and directed this Office not to seek the death penalty against the defendant Rafael Caro Quintero," said the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

For its part, the U.S. Attorney's Office also requested on Tuesday that the death penalty not be considered against Vicente Carrillo Fuentes.

El Viceroy, brother of the late Amado Carrillo, El Señor de los Cielos, was part of a group of 29 drug traffickers extradited to the United States at the beginning of the year.

The US position on these requests and decisions to withdraw the death penalty is still unknown.

SOURCE: RIODOCE 

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Guadalajara Cartel Co-Founder Don Neto Free at age 95

 El Armadillo for Borderland Beat

Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo, better known as Don Neto, one of the original architects of Mexico’s modern drug trade, is now a free man. According to Reforma, as of April 5, 2025, Fonseca Carrillo has fully served his sentence and is no longer under any legal restrictions in Mexico.  At 95 years old, the former Guadalajara Cartel boss was released after serving 40 years for his role in one of the most infamous cases in narco history: the 1985 abduction and murder of DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena and his pilot Alfredo Zavala.

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Family of Kiki Camerena Sues Rafa and Sinaloa Cartel Under Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat

From an NBC News Article

The family of U.S. federal agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena has filed a lawsuit against the Sinaloa cartel in Mexico and three suspected drug kingpins over his brutal kidnap and murder in 1985.

Camarena, a 37-year-old agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration, was abducted in broad daylight off the street of Guadalajara on Feb. 7, 1985. His pilot, Alfredo Zavala-Avelar, was kidnapped near the Guadalajara airport. Both men were interrogated and tortured in an effort to gain information on the DEA’s knowledge of the Cartel’s operations, the federal civil lawsuit says.

They were killed two days after the kidnapping and their bodies were buried in a shallow grave on a rural farm about 60 miles from Guadalajara, the lawsuit says. His story was featured in the first season of the Netflix series "Narcos: Mexico."

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Rafael Caro-Quintero Pleads Not Guilty in New York Court to Killing DEA Agent 'Kiki' Camarena

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat

At Rafael Caro-Quintero's arraignment in New York federal court, Assistant US Attorney Saritha Komatireddy said Caro-Quintero "pioneered Mexican drug trafficking" and the violent enforcement of his cartel's turf. 

His court-appointed attorney entered a not guilty plea on his behalf and did not contest pretrial detention. Caro Quintero was among 29 top drug operatives in Mexico who were expelled and transferred to the U.S. under pressure from the Trump administration.

Judge Robert M. Levy clarified in court Caro Quintero was expelled from Mexico under a provision within the national security law, which permits the Mexican government to remove an individual without undergoing the formal extradition process.

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UpDate: FGR Hands Over Rodrigo Alias 'El R' Former Leader Of Cartel De Caborca And Nephew Of Caro Quintero For Extradition

 "Char" for Borderland Beat 

This article was translated and reposted from RIODOCE 

July 14, 2024

Rodrigo Omar Páez Quintero, alias "El R", nephew of Rafael Caro Quintero, was extradited to the United States government, requested by the Federal District Court for the District of Arizona, for the crimes of criminal association and against health.

Rodrigo "P" was handed over at the Toluca International Airport in the State of Mexico to the U.S. agents designated for his transfer to that country.

In a press release, the Attorney General's Office (FGR) informed that it extradited a Mexican fugitive wanted by the Federal District Court in Arizona.

Rodrigo "P", between 2017 and 2019, was one of the leaders of a drug trafficking organization in Mexico, located in Caborca, Sonora. The extraditable was in charge of directing and supervising drug trafficking activities, and money laundering, according to the FGR.

The Mexican Government granted the extradition of the defendant to the Government of the United States of America after he was arrested in Zapopan, Jalisco in April 2023.

SOURCES: RIODOCE, LaMaskakr3

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Rafael Caro Quintero "Wanted" Billboards up in L.A.

Chivís Martínez for Borderland Beat

A reader reminded me of the wanted billboards erected in search of Rafael Caro Quintero.  I only knew of those posted in June in  Arizona and Texas, the reader commented that they were also in Los Angeles in various points, I checked and he/she is correct.  Readers may recall the defacing of two DEA billboards in El Paso. (photo below)

From DEA:

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) unveiled a billboard in Phoenix, Arizona seeking information for the capture of Mexican drug lord Rafael Caro-Quintero.  The new reward is being offered by the U.S. Department of State under the Narcotics Reward Program for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Caro-Quintero, who kidnapped, tortured and murdered DEA Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena in 1985.

Caro-Quintero had served 28 years of a 40-year prison term for his crimes when a Mexican court ordered his release on August 9, 2013 on procedural grounds.  Caro-Quintero is a fugitive from the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on felony murder, felony kidnapping, and other criminal charges. Caro-Quintero was the mastermind of the atrocious acts against Special Agent Camarena, and DEA will vigorously continue its efforts to ensure that Caro-Quintero faces charges in the United States for the crimes he committed. 

Similar billboards are being placed in El Paso, Texas, San Diego,  and Los Angeles, California. 

Today from Los Angeles Register:

A new billboard has joined I-5’s usual lineup of signs touting casinos, concerts, and cows inviting you to “eat mor chikin.”

This one’s a little grimmer than most: Three grainy mug shots stare down, and the text promises a “REWARD of up to $5,000,000.00 USD” for tips leading to the arrest of notorious Mexican drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero.

The billboard is part of a Drug Enforcement Administration program,  to turn billboards into modern-day “wanted” posters officials hope will help them track down Caro Quintero.

Los Angeles County’s Caro Quintero billboard is on the southbound I-5 after the Slauson Avenue/Montebello exit near the city of Commerce.

The $5 million reward is being offered by the DEA under the Narcotics Reward Program, which was created by Congress to find violators who transport drugs into the United States.

People with information about Caro Quintero can call 866-629-6036 or email CAROQUINTEROTIPS@usdoj.gov

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