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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Mexico's Kidnapping Treason Law Stems from Manhunt Following DEA Agent 'Kiki' Camarena's Torture & Murder

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat

The Mexican government says it is bringing charges against Joaquín Guzmán López, but not because he was one of the leaders in the Sinaloa drug cartel founded by his father, Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.

Instead, Mexican prosecutors are bringing charges against the younger Guzmán for allegedly kidnapping Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada in order to turn him over to US authorities when they landed in New Mexico.

Federal prosecutors issued a statement saying “an arrest warrant has been prepared” against the younger Guzmán for illegal flights, kidnapping, and illicit use of airports, with treason implicated as well. They cited the charge of treason “by those who illegally abduct a person in Mexico in order to hand them over to authorities of another country.”

The inclusion of that particular clause was apparently motivated by the 1990 abduction of a Mexican doctor wanted for allegedly participating in the 1985 torture and killing of DEA Agent Kiki Camarena. The Doctor had helped to keep Camarena alive while he was being tortured, ensuring his pain would continue longer.

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