What cartel was Rafael Caro Quintero? Why was Caro Quintero released? When was Rafael Caro Quintero released?

Rafael Caro Quintero is a Mexican drug lord who co-founded the now-defunct Guadalajara Cartel in the late 1970s with Miguel ngel Félix Gallardo and other drug traffickers.

He is also the founder and presumed current leader of Sonora’s newly formed Caborca Cartel. He is the brother of Miguel Caro Quintero, the founder and former leader of the defunct Sonora Cartel.

Caro Quintero was arrested while sleeping in his Alajuela, Costa Rica mansion on April 4, 1985, and extradited to Mexico on charges of involvement in the death of former DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena.

The killing of Camarena was one of the most notorious killings in Mexico’s bloody narco wars. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison for Camarena’s murder and other crimes.

Following a motion by Rosala Isabel Moreno Ruiz, a state judge and magistrate, the Jalisco state court ruled that Caro Quintero was improperly tried in a federal courtroom for crimes that should have been treated at a state level.

After serving time for other crimes committed during his reign as leader of the Guadalajara Cartel, the magistrate ordered Caro Quintero’s release on August 9, 2013.