Drug lord accused of DEA agent’s murder appears in US court: ‘We have waited 40 years for this day’

(NEW YORK) -- More than 100 Drug Enforcement Administration agents packed a New York City federal courtroom Friday for the arraignment of the alleged mastermind behind the 1985 murder of Enrique "Kiki" Camarena, the first DEA agent killed on Mexican soil.

Rafael Caro Quintero, 72, was arraigned on multiple drug and weapons offenses in Brooklyn federal court following his extradition Thursday to the U.S. from Mexico.

"Today is a historic event," Frank Tarentino, the special agent in charge of the DEA's New York division, said at a press briefing outside the courthouse following the hearing. "We have waited 40 years for this day. This day, when justice would be served."

Caro Quintero appeared in a bright orange tee shirt beneath a navy smock for his arraignment. He was shackled at the hands before he took his seat in court.

A DEA agent was allowed to join U.S. marshals in escorting Caro Quintero from the courtroom, a symbolic gesture. Forty years after the death of Camarena, the DEA finally has its man.

"After 40 years the man who murdered Enrique Camarena is finally facing justice in the United States," Assistant U.S. Attorney Saritha Komatireddy said in court. "Justice never forgets."

Komatireddy said Caro Quintero "pioneered Mexican drug trafficking" and the violent enforcement of his cartel's turf.

His court-appointed attorney entered a not guilty plea on his behalf and did not contest pretrial detention.

Caro Quintero was among 29 top drug operatives Mexico who were expelled and transferred to the U.S. under pressure from the Trump administration.

He was convicted in Mexico in 1985 of the torture and murder of Camarena, one of the most notorious killings in the history of the Mexican narco wars. After serving 28 years of his 40-year sentence, he was released from prison in 2013 when a Mexican judge ruled that he had been improperly tried. Caro Quintero promptly went into hiding, as U.S. officials stridently condemned the release.

In 2018, he was added to the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list, with a $20 million reward available for information leading to his arrest or capture.

The criminal ringleader was once again detained in Mexico in 2022, nearly 10 years after his release. At the time, the FBI said that he was allegedly involved in the Sinaloa cartel and the Caro-Quintero drug trafficking organization in the region of Badiraguato in Sinaloa, Mexico, and warned that he should be considered "armed and extremely dangerous."

Caro Quintero is charged in the Eastern District of New York with multiple drug and weapons offenses, including leading a continuing criminal enterprise, making him eligible for the death penalty if convicted.

In his remarks outside the courthouse, Tarentino said Camarena "remains a symbol of strength, honor, courage, unity and determination."

"Rafael Caro Quintero, the man responsible for Kiki's kidnapping, torture and murder in 1985 in Guadalajara, Mexico, will answer for his crimes," Tarentino said.

Camarena joined the DEA in 1974, the year after its founding.

For more than four years in Mexico, Camarena investigated the country's biggest marijuana and cocaine traffickers.

In early 1985, reportedly close to unlocking a multibillion-dollar drug pipeline, Camarena was kidnapped while headed to meet his wife. The agent's capture and subsequent murder were dramatized in Netflix's "Narcos: Mexico."

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