The official version of the AMLO government is that he was arrested by the Secretary of the Navy (SEMAR) in cooperation with the Attorney General’s Office (FGR). Later in a court document, SEMAR denied any involvement in the operation. (Editor’s note)
From the maximum security prison where he is being held, Rafael Caro Quintero, who is accused of drug trafficking and the murder of a federal agent, assured one of his lawyers that the DEA, the US drug enforcement agency, was present when he was detained. , thereby disproving the Mexican Government’s claim that the said United States Government Drug Enforcement Agency did not interfere with his detention.
“It was the DEA, and the Navy, and Interpol,” the former leader of the Guadalajara cartel stated categorically and without hesitation during a telephone conversation with one of his legal representatives, from whom the content was obtained, and whose existence and authenticity could be verified. confirmed prior to the publication of this report.
Kidnapping and murder of a DEA agent in 1985.
Prisoner number 5538, as shown on the prisoner’s uniform he now wears in a maximum security prison located in the state of Mexico, was detained in the state of Sinaloa in the Golden Triangle area in accordance with an arrest warrant. issued by the Federal Court of the Central District of California for the 1985 kidnapping and murder of DEA agent Enrique Camarena in Guadalajara, Jalisco.
After 28 years in Mexico, convicted of killing Camarena, Caro Quintero was released by court order in 2013. Immediately thereafter, he became one of the most wanted criminals by the US government. The DEA and FBI have offered an exorbitant $20 million reward to anyone who provides information that could lead to his arrest. This is the second largest amount offered by the fugitive after the terrorist Osama bin Laden, which amounted to $ 25 million.
AMLO: “No direct DEA intervention”
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador stated at a July 18, 2022 press conference that the DEA was neither present nor involved in the capture. “In the case of the DEA involvement, as the US Ambassador pointed out, they had no direct intervention,” assured AMLO, which uses the nationalism and non-interference of the North American government as one of its political slogans.
“The DEA found him and informed the Navy?” — asked the journalist at the mentioned conference. “No no no. And far fewer elements (from the DEA) were involved. It’s not like before,” the president said emphatically.
On the other hand, DEA director Ann Milgram assured in an official statement on July 16: “Our incredible team in Mexico worked alongside the Mexican authorities to capture and arrest Caro Quintero, accused in the US of torturing and murdering Special Agent Kiki Camarena and many other crimes…
Family members on the OFAC black list
Caro Quintero confirmed Milgram’s statement in an interview with one of his lawyers. And he confirmed not only that the DEA was in his custody, but also that his children – he did not name names – were forced to sign documents from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of the Treasury. United States government associated with property that is in their names that the government wants to confiscate.
In 2013, OFAC included Elisabeth Elenes, Caro Quintero’s ex-wife, and four children born to her: Hector Rafael, Henok Emilio, Mario Ibran and Roxana Elisabeth Caro Elenes, in their list of special designations, better known as the “black list”. ”, for allegedly participating in the money laundering network in the criminal activities of Caro Quintero. But in 2021, OFAC announced that it had removed Elenes and her children from the list.
“It was the DEA”
The conversation between Caro Quintero and the lawyer, who is not named in the dialogue, was supposed to have taken place about 19 days after his arrest, and is said to have been part of a phone call to which all prisoners are entitled. .
Since he was arrested, thanks to a series of injunctions submitted by his lawyers, court orders have been obtained that still protect him from extradition to the US. The first part of this report, titled “What’s the Truth About Caro Quintero’s Capture?”, reported that there were contradictions in the official story about how and by whom the alleged fugitive drug dealer was arrested. Although the Minister of the Navy of the Mexican government claimed responsibility for the capture of Caro Quintero publicly and officially, the agency denied any involvement in court.
This was spoken by a lawyer and “drug dealers” accused in the United States of killing Camarena and creating a new drug cartel during the years when he was on the run.
“… I am going to send you an official letter from the Minister of the Navy, which says that they did not detain him, that they did not participate in anything,” the lawyer said, to which Caro Quintero answered bluntly: “No? , it was both the DEA and the Navy and Interpol.
A supporter told him that he was able to make contact with his brother Miguel Caro Quintero, who was sentenced in the US to 17 years in prison on drug trafficking charges. After serving his sentence, he was released in 2019 when his brother Rafael was a fugitive.
He also informed him that his defense was already filing international appeals, such as the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, arguing that extradition was inappropriate because no Mexican could be convicted twice for the same crime.
“No! And then, look, they made my kids sign OFAC to give them protection, and they’re collecting whatever was in their name,” Caro Quintero said, arguing for other alleged abuses of power.
“I’m like a lion in a cage…”
In a phone call, “Rafa”, as he introduced himself in the conversation, complained that he was very lonely in prison and that no one came to visit him.
“… I need you to come right away,” he confirmed in a tone of order and complaint, “I’m alone! All day here in the cell!”
“A message for your brother?” his lawyer asked.
“No, well, a big hug to everyone and hurry up to file documents so they can come … Tell my brother and sister to tell other lawyers to come later,” the capo replied.
-Don Rafael, we need you to give me all the necessary information, both legal, political, diplomatic, and messages with your family, right now I am personally going to contact them to send them messages …
“I am like a lion in a cage and I bring a lot of anxiety,” said Caro Quintero and asked his representative to petition that he be placed with the rest of the prisoners of the maximum security prison, and not isolated.
Another part of the conversation revolved around Caro Quintero’s medical needs.
Source: La Opinion
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