Rafael Caro Quintero

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Rafael Caro Quintero (born October 24, 1954) is a Mexican drug lord and co-founder, with Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, of the Guadalajara Cartel. His family is based in the state of Sonora, with most of them living in Caborca. He is wanted by the U.S. government for kidnapping and murder of a federal agent, violent crimes in aid of racketeering, possession with intent to distribute marijuana and cocaine, murder, continuing criminal enterprise.

Rafael Caro Quintero was the oldest of 4 brothers and 2 sisters. Born in the village of La Noria, in the municipality of Badiraguato, Sinaloa.^[1] His father was a poor peasant. He left when he was 18 to find work in the state capital, Culiacán, where he briefly worked as a truck driver.

He did not last long at that job, he started to plant small plots of marijuana in small fields with his brother Jorge Luis. Together they bought farms and turned them into huge marijuana cultivation centers. He learned at the feet of Pedro Avilés Pérez, Mexico's most important drug lord at the time. Before soon Caro Quintero began to work on his own, together with his partner and relative by marriage, Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo, "Don Neto", and Juan José Esparragoza Moreno.

He sent out monthly bribes to police commanders in the states of Sonora and Chihuahua so the government wouldn't interfere with his operations. He had major operations in Zacatecas, Chihuahua, Sonora, San Luis Potosí and Durango. He was a close associate with Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, Mexico's cocaine czar and soon the three, Caro, Fonseca and Gallardo formed the Guadalajara cartel.

In November 1984, the federal police raided his property at El Búfalo, Chihuahua, and burned more than 10,000 of marijuana, costing the cartel almost 2 billion dollars. All this thanks to the extensive investigations by the Drug Enforcement Agency DEA in Guadalajara in particular, Special Agent Enrique Camarena Salazar.

Camarena and his pilot Alfredo Zavala were kidnapped in Guadalajara on February 7, 1985. They were brutally tortured and murdered. Caro fled Guadalajara with his associates and girlfriend Sara Cosio on February 9 after being intercepted by the Commander of the Mexican Federal Police in charge of the Camarena investigation, Armando Pavón Reyes. Pavón allowed Caro to flee. He found refuge in Costa Rica

On April 5, 1985, Caro was arrested in Costa Rica and brought back to Mexico City for his role in the Camarena murder. Fonseca Carrillo was arrested in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, three days later. Both were sentenced to 40 years for drug trafficking and the murder of Camarena and Zavala. Miguel Félix Gallardo was imprisoned in April 1989.

It was estimated that Caro Quintero's wealth surpassed US$650 million at the time of his capture.