DEA fugitive on FBI’s Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) recently added to its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list Rafael Caro-Quintero, who is wanted for his alleged involvement in the 1985 kidnapping and murder of Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Special Agent Enrique Camarena Salazar aka “Kiki.”

Caro-Quintero is the 518th addition to the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list and the first DEA fugitive to be added to the list.

DEA and U.S. Attorney Richard P. Donoghue for the Eastern District of New York also announced the unsealing of an additional indictment against Quintero, which alleges his role as leader of a continuing criminal enterprise and the individual responsible for the murder of Camarena. The indictment details his leadership role in trafficking methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, and marijuana into the United States and elsewhere and reflects criminal activities from 1980 to 2017.

The U.S. District Court, Central District of California, issued a federal arrest warrant on July 30, 1992, charging Caro-Quintero with violent crimes in aid of racketeering; conspiracy to kidnap a federal agent; kidnapping of a federal agent; felony murder of a federal agent; aiding and abetting; and accessory after the fact.

“Together with our federal partners at the DEA, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the U.S. Department of State, we are committed to bring to justice this dangerous criminal and cartel leader responsible for the brutal murder of a DEA Agent,” FBI Deputy Director Bowdich said. “Special Agent Camarena was devoted to stopping drug trafficking and breaking the cycle of drug-related crime. He showed tremendous courage to pursue the most violent drug traffickers, and it is because of his courage, and his selflessness, that we’re not going to stop looking for Caro-Quintero until we find him and put him back behind bars where he belongs.”