The Infamous Mexican Drug Kingpin Known as the “King of Narcos”

Rafael Caro Quintero, a notorious Mexican drug lord known as the “Narco of Narcos,” was extradited to the U.S. along with 28 cartel members to avoid tariffs from President Trump. Quintero was infamously involved in the 1985 kidnapping and murder of DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, for which he had previously served 28 years before a legal technicality led to his release in 2013. Captured in 2022, he was placed on the FBI’s most-wanted list with a $20 million reward. Quintero, who co-founded the Guadalajara cartel, pleaded not guilty to narcotics charges in New York court and could face the death penalty.

Rafael Caro Quintero, the notorious Mexican drug lord sought for decades for the murder of a US undercover agent, was one of 29 cartel members extradited by Mexico to the United States last week to avoid massive tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.

Here Are 10 Facts About Rafael Caro Quintero:

1. Rafael Caro Quintero, known as the “Narco of Narcos,” is wanted for the kidnapping, torture, and murder of Drug Enforcement Administration special agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena in 1985.
2. Caro Quintero, who has consistently denied involvement in the crime, was arrested in 1985, tried in Mexico, and sentenced to 40 years in prison for Camarena’s murder. However, a Mexican court ordered his release in 2013 on a legal technicality after he had served 28 years, which infuriated US officials.
3. By the time Mexico’s Supreme Court reversed that decision, he had already gone into hiding.
4. At 72 years old, he had also been on the FBI’s list of 10 most-wanted fugitives until his capture in Mexico in 2022.
5. There was a $20 million bounty for information leading to his arrest—the largest ever offered by the US for a Mexican drug trafficker.
6. Reports indicate he started cultivating marijuana at the age of 14. “I was an orphan, my father died, I was 14 years old and I had to feed my brothers, that’s how it all started,” he recounted in a 2016 magazine interview.
7. He co-founded the now-defunct Guadalajara cartel, which collaborated with the late Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, before leading a faction of the infamous Sinaloa cartel.
8. Known for his love of jewelry and high-end clothing, he often cited his difficult upbringing as a rationale for his actions.
9. The US Justice Department described Caro Quintero as “one of the most notorious drug lords of the modern era.”
10. Caro Quintero appeared in a New York courtroom on Friday and pleaded not guilty to narcotics charges. If convicted, he and several co-defendants could face the death penalty.