Having formed the Guadalajara Cartel in the 1970s, Caro Quintero worked with Gallardo, Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo, and Pedro Avilés Pérez by shipping large quantities of marijuana to the United States from Mexico.
The day after his release, amid pressure from the United States government to re-arrest him, a Mexican federal court issued an arrest warrant against Caro Quintero.
[9] When he was a teenager, Caro Quintero allegedly began to grow marijuana on a small scale, at the ranch owned by his brother Jorge Luis.
He is said to have first worked for the drug traffickers Pedro Avilés Pérez and Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo before forming the Guadalajara Cartel with Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, Juan José Esparragoza Moreno, and others in the late 1970s.
Caro Quintero has been accused of ordering the abduction, torture, and murder of writer John Clay Walker and dentistry student Albert Radelat on January 30, 1985.
[15][16] Caro Quintero has also been accused of involvement in the murder of US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena Salazar.
[18] In retribution, Camarena and his pilot Alfredo Zavala Avelar were kidnapped in Guadalajara on February 7, 1985, taken to a residence owned by Quintero located at 881 Lope de Vega in the colonia of Jardines del Bosque, in the western section of the city,[19] brutally tortured, and murdered.
[15] Mexican Judicial Police chief Armando Pavón Reyes, after receiving a US$300,000 bribe, reportedly allowed Caro Quintero to flee from the airport in Guadalajara, in a private jet, to seek refuge in Costa Rica.
The town's mayor, Ángel Robles Bañuelos, said in a 2013 interview that Caro Quintero financed the construction of a 40-kilometre-long (25 mi) highway in Badiraguato and helped electrify the area.
[22] On April 4, 1985, Caro Quintero was arrested in Alajuela, Costa Rica, while sleeping in a mansion just 800 metres (1⁄2 mi) from Juan Santamaría International Airport and extradited to Mexico on charges of involvement in Camarena's murder.
[37] The Association of Former Federal Narcotics Agents expressed their disappointment, too, but stated that Caro Quintero's release was a result of the corruption that besets Mexico's judicial system.
[40] Mexico's Attorney General clarified, however, that if arrested, Caro Quintero cannot be extradited to the United States for the murder of Camarena, because Mexican law prohibits criminals from being tried for the same crime in another country.
[43] On March 7, 2018, the Mexican military used Black Hawk helicopters to search for Caro Quintero, dropping Marines into the mountain villages of La Noria, Las Juntas, Babunica, and Bamopa, all in the Badiraguato Municipality, but their hunt was unsuccessful.
[47][48] On May 26, 2020, Caro Quintero's lawyer filed for an appeal to drop not only more recent drug trafficking charges, but also charges filed against him in 2015 regarding the kidnapping and qualified homicide of DEA agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena and Mexican pilot Alfredo Zavala Avelar, stating Caro Quintero did not have any chance of obtaining the financial resources needed to survive a new trial.
[49][50] In court documents, the lawyer stated "The plaintiff argues insolvency, because he says he is more than 60 years old, is neither retired nor has a pension, and given the fact that he is a fugitive from the law, cannot work or perform any activity to earn money.
[49] Convicted former Guadalajara Cartel leader Ernesto Fonseca, "Don Neto", is accused of conspiring with Caro Quintero in the murder of Camarena and the pilot, but was later transferred to house arrest due to his advanced age.
[51] However, both Rafael and Miguel Caro Quintero had recently rejected offers to join the Sinaloa Cartel due to a fallout with the sons of imprisoned former leader Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán over leadership status.
[51] Ex-DEA agent Mike Vigil continued to downplay Caro Quintero's role in the drug trafficking business and stated that "He will fall before he dies of old age.
There were contradictory statements to the press: the Mexican Navy denied any connection, while an unnamed U.S. official tracking the raid told CBS News that the crash was linked to the operation, but said Quintero was not on board.
[55] Following these reports, United States Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a statement addressing both the capture of Caro Quintero in Choix and the downed helicopter in Los Mochis:[56] There is no hiding place for anyone who kidnaps, tortures, and murders American law enforcement.
Their bravery and sacrifice will be honored in our quest to bring about greater security for our two nations.On July 24, 2016, while still on the run, Caro Quintero gave an interview to Proceso magazine.
"[59] It was acknowledged that Caro Quintero's cousin Sajid, who was arrested by US authorities in October 2017 and pled guilty to charges of drug trafficking and money laundering in a California courthouse on January 25, 2018, may have started these allegations in order to make a deal with prosecutors.