After four decades of successful maneuvering to avoid extradition to the United States, Mexican authorities finally put an end to the notorious criminal career of Rafael Caro Quintero when they sent him to face US drug trafficking and murder charges this week.
The once undisputed “King of Marijuana” had been evading extradition since 1985 following the murder of US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena – an incident that haunted the bilateral anti-narcotics relationship between Mexico and the United States ever since.
But that all changed on February 27, when Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum finally delivered Caro Quintero, as well as 28 other criminals wanted in the United States, into the hands of US law enforcement, some of whom have no doubt been shaped, in part, by the memory of Camarena’s murder. It remains unclear whether this week’s unexpected, mass delivery of so many wanted-criminals to the United States respected the legal requirements of the extradition process.
After his initial arrest following the killing of Camarena in 1985, Caro Quintero was released from prison in Mexico in 2013 on a technicality after serving 28 years of his 44-year sentence. He went on to operate in the shadows of Mexico’s criminal world and reportedly helped found the Caborca Cartel in the northern state of Sonora, but was eventually recaptured by Mexican marines in 2022 in his home state of Sinaloa.
US authorities had sought his extradition from the very beginning, but Caro Quintero’s defense team managed to use a variety of legal remedies to postpone it, possibly thanks to his alleged connections to important political players in Mexico. He obtained various injunctions and suspensions based on arguments like procedural errors and human rights violations.
Below, InSight Crime chronicles the criminal career and many judicial lives that allowed Caro Quintero to escape the grips of US prosecutors for more than 40 years.
1970s: Guadalajara Cartel Forms
Also known as the Federation, Caro Quintero was among the original founders of the so-called Guadalajara Cartel alongside Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, known as the “Boss of Bosses,” and Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo, all of whom hailed from the state of Sinaloa.
The trio would revolutionize drug trafficking in Mexico, first with the mass importation of marijuana into the United States and later cocaine. They were the first Mexican group to establish a working relationship with cocaine traffickers in Colombia.
1984: Búfalo Ranch Seizure
In November 1984, Mexican authorities raided a 1,000-hectare ranch known as El Búfalo in Chihuahua, which was owned and operated by Caro Quintero. The authorities reportedly burned more than 10,000 tons of marijuana – totaling a loss of some $160 million.
Camarena was credited with leading the DEA to the ranch. The seizure ultimately led Caro Quintero and other Guadalajara Cartel members to kidnap the US anti-drug agent in February 1985. The murder of Camarena would mark the beginning of the end of the Guadalajara Cartel.
1985: Arrest in Costa Rica and Extradition to Mexico
Following the kidnapping and murder of Camarena, Caro Quintero was arrested in April 1985 in Costa Rica and extradited to Mexico. His capture marked a milestone in the war on drugs. A judge sentenced him to 40 years for murder, setting in motion what would become decades of legal maneuvers to avoid justice.
2013: Released from Jail
On August 9, 2013, a local Guadalajara court ordered the release of Caro Quintero after 28 years in prison, citing a legal technicality that stated he should have been tried for a common, and not a federal, crime. The ruling sparked outrage in the United States, which was still seeking his extradition for the Camarena murder.
2013: New Arrest Warrant
On August 14, 2013, just days after his release and under mounting international pressure, a federal court in Mexico issued a new arrest warrant for Caro Quintero. But by then, the drug lord had already disappeared. His escape marked the beginning of a new phase in his life as a fugitive, once again defying attempts by both countries to bring him to the United States to face justice.
2018: FBI’s Top 10 Most Wanted List
In April 2018, the US Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) placed Caro Quintero on its Top 10 Most Wanted list, intensifying efforts to capture him. The agency offered a $20 million reward – one of the highest ever for a drug trafficker – for his role in trafficking drugs and, more importantly, the murder of agent Camarena. This designation reflected just how high of a priority his extradition was for the US government even decades after his first arrest.
That same year, US prosecutors in New York formally indicted Caro Quintero for murder and drug trafficking. The move reinforced international pressure against the drug lord, whose history of evasion and protection within the Mexican judicial system continued to frustrate attempts to extradite him to the United States.
2020: Legal Moves Block Extradition
In May 2020, Caro Quintero’s lawyers filed a legal motion to quash the charges against him for drug trafficking and the murder of Camarena. The defense argued that he lacked the financial resources to face a new trial in an attempt to discredit the judicial process against him. The request was part of a broader strategy to stop his extradition to the United States.
2022: Re-capture and Extradition Process
On July 15, 2022, after almost a decade on the run, Mexican Marines recaptured Caro Quintero in Sinaloa. Following the operation, however, 14 marines died in a helicopter crash. US officials immediately reiterated their request for his extradition to try him in the United States.
The extradition process faced repeated delays. In August 2022, a Mexican court granted a permanent stay and temporarily blocked his handover to US authorities. Although the Mexican government publicly committed to facilitating his extradition, his defense filed at least four appeals that year, highlighting cracks in the country’s judicial system and the kingpin’s possible influence within legal and political spheres.
2023: Saved From Extradition, Again
Caro Quintero’s extradition was put on hold for several months in 2023 after a federal court in Mexico agreed to review one of his appeals. This new legal obstacle was just the latest in a long series of judicial maneuvers that allowed the drug lord to avoid being handed over to the US authorities.
The appeal’s approval reflected Caro Quintero’s ability to exploit legal loopholes in the Mexican judicial system, delaying a process that had been in the works for more than a decade despite the Mexican government’s public commitment to extraditing him.
2024: Another Suspension
In May 2024, Caro Quintero filed a new appeal to stop his extradition. A federal judge granted him the suspension, temporarily blocking any attempt to transfer him once again.
2025: Partially Blocked, Then A Swift Removal
On February 22, 2025, a judge in the State of Mexico appeared to grant a new stay that would have prevented Caro Quintero’s extradition to the United States until the conclusion of the proceedings that began in 2022.
However, before the judge could make a final ruling, Sheinbaum shipped him and another 28 alleged criminals to the United States to face a range of charges there. His final appeal was ultimately rejected since he was no longer being processed in Mexico.
