The criminal record of Rafael Caro Quintero puts him at risk of facing the death penalty in the Eastern District Court of New York, where he is charged with various offenses due to the criminal enterprise he leads, as well as for the murder of DEA agent Kiki Camarena in Mexico.
Caro Quintero’s criminal career spans over four decades, ultimately leading him to court in Brooklyn to respond to serious drug trafficking and murder allegations. For many years, he successfully avoided extradition to the U.S., where he is especially wanted for the murder of the law enforcement officer.
The kidnapping, torture, and murder of Enrique “Kiki” Camarena in 1985 is a matter of honor for U.S. justice, which will significantly weigh in during sentencing.
Detention in the Eastern District of New York
The prosecutor for the Eastern District of New York requested the permanent detention of Rafael Caro Quintero.
On February 28, 2025, in the Federal Court of Brooklyn, before the presiding Judge Robert M. Levy, a hearing took place involving drug cartel leaders Rafael Caro Quintero and Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, both expelled from Mexico to face federal charges in the Eastern District of New York.
Their expulsion from Mexico occurred just before this judicial action, on February 27, 2025. However, their accusations are going through separate proceedings in the Eastern District of New York, indicating that U.S. authorities have been preparing criminal cases against them.
Request for Permanent Detention
The prosecutor for the Eastern District of New York filed a memorandum detailing Rafael Caro Quintero’s criminal history, which highlights his leadership of the Guadalajara and Sinaloa Cartels; his involvement in the murder of a DEA agent; as well as his ongoing drug trafficking activities even while imprisoned or on the run.
The prosecution emphasized that Caro Quintero poses a danger to the community and alerted of significant flight risk due to the severity of the charges, possible sentences, and his past efforts to evade capture.
Moreover, Rafael Caro Quintero—alias “RCQ”, “Cesar”, “Don Rafa”, “Rafa”, “El Señor”, “28”, “R1”, “Compa”, “El Hombre”, “El Pleve”, “El Canoso”, “El Crespo”, and “the Old Man”—leads the Caro Quintero Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO). His extradition followed his arrest by Mexican authorities on July 15, 2022.
The government argues that no release conditions can assure the safety of the community or the defendant’s appearance at trial due to his record as one of the most notorious and violent traffickers, his continued direction of the DTO even from prison and after his release, and his significant flight risk.
Leadership in the Guadalajara Cartel and the DTO of Caro Quintero
In court documents, Rafael Caro Quintero is referred to as “one of the most notorious traffickers of the modern era” and “The Godfather of Narcos.” He is noted for co-founding the Guadalajara Cartel, also known as “The Federation”, an organization that dominated Mexico in the 1980s and later evolved into the Sinaloa Cartel.
The Caro Quintero Drug Trafficking Organization is said to have trafficked “enormous amounts of marijuana and cocaine into the United States.” They pioneered cocaine trafficking through Central America and Mexico in association with Colombian manufacturers, also dealing in heroin and methamphetamine.
Between 1980 and 1985, Caro Quintero controlled marijuana plantations covering “thousands of hectares” in Chihuahua, Sonora, and Sinaloa, operated by “thousands of workers” and guarded by armed individuals using handguns and AK-47s.
Use of Violence for Discipline
The actions of Rafael Caro Quintero are characterized by systematic violence, as he routinely enforced discipline through brutal intimidation. This included “beatings and death” for workers who stole or betrayed him.
In 1984, witnesses saw a security guard “execute a worker accused of stealing” by shooting him in the head. Another 1984 incident referred to the body of a man found “with hands bound behind his back” on Rancho Búfalo, a plantation controlled by RCQ.
In February 1985, Caro Quintero ordered the kidnapping, torture, and murder of DEA Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, whom he believed was responsible for the seizure of his ranch in Chihuahua (Rancho Búfalo).
In 2016, he “ordered the killing of a co-conspirator whom he believed was cooperating with U.S. law enforcement.”
Leadership from Prison and After Release
Despite being sentenced in Mexico in 1985 to 40 years in prison, Rafael Caro Quintero continued to direct his criminal organization, issuing orders to family members and associates. He personally supervised marijuana production and transportation and discussed cocaine smuggling.
Additionally, in 2013, a Mexican state court ordered his early release, immediately leading to a new federal arrest warrant against him. Caro Quintero went into hiding and continued to lead his criminal group.
Since 2013, the Caro Quintero Drug Trafficking Organization has gone to great lengths to protect the accused from being recaptured. To do this, Caro Quintero avoided communication through phones or electronic means, only agreeing to in-person meetings through intermediaries.
In June 2016, he met with co-conspirators to discuss smuggling heroin and marijuana into the U.S. During the meeting, he stated that he would continue trafficking drugs to make money to live in the mountains and evade Mexican authorities. Meanwhile, the DTO kept trafficking “large quantities of controlled substances” while using firearms.
Charges Against Rafael Caro Quintero
On July 26, 2018, a grand jury in the Eastern District of New York issued a superseding indictment charging him with the following offenses:
Charge One: Leading a continuing criminal enterprise. This charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of life imprisonment and the possibility of the death penalty.
Charges Two and Three: Conspiracy to distribute cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and marijuana. Each carries a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Charge Four: Use of firearms in the commission of drug trafficking offenses. This charge also has a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life imprisonment.
More about this case:
Rafael Caro Quintero, the kingpin who may face the death penalty for murdering a DEA agent
Rafael Caro Quintero: The fall of the ‘Narco of Narcos’ and his expulsion to the U.S.
Stepsont of the narco Rafael Caro Quintero transferred property to his name and evaded sanctions