Mexico arrests notorious drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero when 14 people were killed in Black Hawk helicopter crash | World News
Mexican military forces have arrested notorious drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, who was behind the torture and murder of a US DEA agent in 1985.
Caro Quintero, 69, was arrested after a search dog named Max found him hiding in a bushland in the town of San Simon in the state of Sinaloa during a joint operation by the navy and the General Office. attorney general, according to a statement from the Mexican navy.
Meanwhile, a Blackhawk helicopter carrying 15 people crashed near the coastal city of Los Mochis during the operation, killing 14 people on board.
Photos on social media show the wreckage of the helicopter in a field.
The Navy said the helicopter suffered an “accident”, the cause of which has yet to be determined.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador tweeted that the helicopter crashed shortly before landing after assisting those conducting the arrest of Caro Quintero. He said the accident would be investigated.
Footage of the arrest released by the navy shows Caro Quintero, face obscured, wearing jeans, a water-soaked blue shirt and a baggy khaki jacket. He is being held by men in camouflage uniforms and armed with assault rifles.
Caro Quintero emerged as the co-founder of the Guadalajara gang, one of Latin America’s most powerful drug trafficking organizations during the 1980s.
He went free in 2013 after 28 years in prison for engineering crimes by a Mexican judge who overturned a 40-year prison sentence for the kidnapping and murder of a US Drug Enforcement Agency employee. Enrique “Kiki” Camarena in 1985.
However, the Supreme Court upheld the sentence, but Caro Quintero was put in a waiting car.
Caro Quintero was arrested after a search dog named Max discovered him hiding in the bushland. Photo: AP
He went underground and is said to have returned to the drug trade, causing bloody battles on the pitch in the border state of Sonora.
The events were staged in the 2018 Netflix series Narcos: Mexico.
Red Cross ambulance workers stand next to the wreckage of a crashed Black Hawk military helicopter in Los Mochis, Sinaloa state, Mexico
Caro Quintero is on the FBI’s most wanted list, with a $20m (£16.9m) reward being offered for his arrest.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said the US would seek his extradition immediately.
Caro Quintero is on the FBI’s most wanted list. Photo: AP
“There is no refuge for anyone who kidnaps, tortures and kills American law enforcement,” Mr. Garland said in a statement.
“Today’s arrest is the culmination of the tireless work of the DEA and their Mexican partners to bring Caro Quintero to justice for his alleged crimes, including torture. and executed DEA Agent Enrique ‘Kiki’ Camarena.
“We will seek his immediate extradition to the United States so that he can be tried for these crimes within the justice system itself. Agent Camarena died in defense.”
The Mexican president has insisted he has no interest in detaining drug lords and wants to avoid violence, but the arrest comes days after Lopez Obrador met US President Joe Biden at the White House.
