Capturing Rafael Caro Quintero, the Obsession of the US Government

“MX” for Borderland Beat

Note: This recent publication was originally published in Spanish by Riodoce, an award-winning newspaper based in Sinaloa, and translated into English by Borderland Beat.

Hundreds of elements of the Mexican Navy have besieged the communities of Otatillos, Las Juntas, Babunica, Bamopa and La Noria, during an operation led by US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents that intended to capture Rafael Caro Quintero.

According to testimonies from residents of these communities, the military actions included clashes between the drug trafficker’s first security circle and members of the Mexican Navy, including an attack where a Black Hawk-type helicopter was shot down. Military elements arrived swiftly in this area on April 11. After locating the exact point where the capo was reportedly hiding, his security team confronted the uniformed men and allowed Caro Quintero enough time to escape.

According to state sources, no deaths or injuries have been reported. Until the publication of story, the Navy elements were besieging several of the communities of that region in Badiraguato, since apparently Caro Quintero was still hidden in the area and was only waiting for the military operations to cease. Security forces were searching for him through drones and helicopters manned by the Mexican Air Force.

“The situation is complicated over there (in the mountains) because the Navy is till looking for Don Rafa, and there have already been several arrests of people under him,” said a resident of the Otatillos community.

However, the Municipal Police of Badiraguato did not confirm or deny that clashes had taken place in that mountainous area. Since the Navy arrived, the municipal police force no longer approached the conflict zone, nor did it receive reports of people killed or injured during that period of time.

“We know that there is a Navy operation in that area, but we do not get involved when the Navy arrived. We waited for them to do their thing and only then will we patrol to confirm that everything is fine among the population,” said Omar García , deputy commander of the Badiraguato Municipal Police.

With everything they’ve got

Catching Caro Quintero seems to have become an obsession for the US government, no matter which party rules, whether it is Republican or the Democrat. The latest operation against Caro Quintero bears the signature of the US, and the message is that they will go with everything this time to catch the drug trafficker who is native to La Noria community, in Badiraguato.

Since his release in 2013, the drug lord has spent his freedom leapfrogging and hiding from both the Mexican and US governments that offer US$20 million for information leading to his capture.

But due to the failure of that reward, the US has intensified the means to subdue and catch the drug trafficker. Just on Thursday of last week, a federal court in the Eastern District of New York, in Brooklyn, ordered the seizure of five properties that Caro Quintero bought in the state of Jalisco, Mexico.

The argument of the US government was that all these properties were acquired with money obtained from drug trafficking, and for this reason Judge Eric N. Vitaliano approved that, through the different diplomatic channels, the US government would insure the properties.

“Today’s order is another step forward in our relentless pursuit of justice for the victims of Caro Quintero’s brutal drug trafficking organization and especially for DEA Special Agent Enrique Camarena, who was tragically murdered at the hands of Caro Quintero’s crime syndicate,” stated Acting United States Attorney Lesko.

Four months earlier, on November 28, 2020, Caro Quintero had already suffered another legal setback, as the First Collegiate Court in Criminal Matters in Mexico had rejected his appeal for review regarding the motion filed to prevented him from being extradited to the US.

Since then and in the most stealthy way, the DEA was working on his location and his eventual arrest. The US government and the DEA planned to come with everything they’ve had to arrest him.

“The reality is that we continue looking for this fugitive, and no matter how long or how old he is, the DEA remains determined to catch Caro Quintero and bring him to justice in our country to pay for his crimes,” said Patricia Hartman, a spokeswoman for the DEA, in Washington DC.

Caro Quintero, Don Rafa, heads the list of the most wanted men by the US government. He represents the main objective of the DEA, FBI, ICE and ATF, which for years have led an intelligence operation to catch the kingpin, who they are looking for with far greater efforts than other drug traffickers such as Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, El Mencho, leader of the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel (CJNG) or Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada of the Sinaloa Cartel.

Such is the determination of the DEA to catch him, that on its website it lists Caro Quintero as “armed and dangerous”, while offering a reward of 20 million dollars for information that allows his capture.

“It’s personal,” former DEA agent Mike Vigil once said. He also predicted that the kingpin would fall into the hands of the US government “before he died of old age.” Caro Quintero is almost 70 years-old.

However, the years continue to pass and the DEA has not managed to get its hands on the capo, whom it has accused since being a business partner of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in drug trafficking; US authorities have even singled him out as the current leader of the Sinaloa Cartel.

Just last December, the United States Treasury sanctioned Lucio Rodríguez Serrano, a friend of the drug trafficker, and later accused him of having helped him escape from the Navy on one occasion when federal authorities entered Las Juntas Badiraguato, in 2017.

The only thing left by that failed attempt was discontent among the residents of that area, who accused the Navy of committing abuses and human rights violations.

Sources: Riodoce