![]() ![]() ![]() drug enforcement by the 1960s, but the first major American joint actions with the Mexican government did not begin until the 1970s.Įarly anti-narcotic efforts in Mexico Mexican heroin and marijuana production became a concern to U.S. Mexican background Īmerican anti-narcotic efforts in Mexico long predate the Camarena case. Guadalajara's spring-like weather and the city's American school and favorable exchange rate convinced Camarena and his family that the move would be good for the family as well. By this time, Camarena was married and had three sons. Foreign assignments were important for job advancement in the DEA and the Guadalajara office was seeing a surge in work, foreshadowing the explosion in drug trafficking of the 1980s. In 1980, a colleague and close friend who had moved from Fresno to the DEA resident office in Guadalajara suggested that Camarena also apply for an assignment at the office, where a position was open. Author Elaine Shannon describes Camarena as "a natural in the theater of the street", able to "slip effortlessly into a Puerto Rican accent or toss off Mexican gutter slang-whatever the role demanded." Colleagues described him as driven, even by the standards of job-focused DEA agents. In 1977, Camarena transferred to the agency's Fresno field office, where he worked undercover on smuggling activities in the San Joaquin Valley. Both Camarena and his sister Myrna joined the new agency in 1973, Myrna as a secretary and Enrique as a special agent in the DEA's Calexico resident office. From regular police work, he moved on to undercover narcotics work as a Special Agent on the Imperial County Narcotic Task Force (ICNTF).Īfter the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was established in 1973, it quickly instituted a hiring program for Spanish-speaking agents. Following his discharge in 1970, he returned to Calexico and joined the police department. Īfter graduating from high school, Camarena joined the Marines. Despite the family's difficulties, Camarena graduated from Calexico High School in 1966. His other brother Ernesto had a troubled police record, including drug problems. His oldest brother Eduardo joined the Marines and was killed while serving in Vietnam in 1965. Camarena's parents divorced when he was young and the family endured considerable poverty after their move. The family-three brothers and three sisters-immigrated to Calexico, California, when Camarena was a child. Caro Quintero was again captured by Mexican forces in July 2022.Įnrique Camarena was born on July 26, 1947, in the border city of Mexicali, Mexico. The case continues to trouble U.S.–Mexican relations, most recently when one of the three convicted traffickers, Rafael Caro Quintero, was released from a Mexican prison in 2013. investigation into Camarena's murder led to ten more trials in Los Angeles for other Mexican nationals involved in the crime. Three leaders of the Guadalajara drug cartel were eventually convicted in Mexico for Camarena's murder. He was interrogated under torture and murdered. ![]() In February 1985 Camarena was kidnapped by drug traffickers hired by Mexican politicians in Guadalajara, Mexico. Enrique " Kiki" Camarena Salazar (J– February 9, 1985) was an American intelligence officer for the United States (DEA). ![]()
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