Mexico extradites drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, 28 other cartel members to US

Rafael Caro Quintero, a notorious Mexican drug lord and co-founder of the Guadalajara Cartel, was extradited to the United States on February 27, 2025. He is accused of orchestrating the 1985 kidnapping, torture, and murder of DEA agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena, among other drug trafficking crimes. Caro Quintero had been arrested in Mexico in July 2022 after years on the run following his release from a Mexican prison in 2013 on a technicality (after serving 28 years of a 40-year sentence). His extradition today marks a significant event, as it coincides with Mexico handing over 29 high-profile cartel figures to the U.S., reportedly under pressure from the Trump administration to combat drug trafficking amid threats of tariffs. He is expected to face trial in New York for charges including leading a criminal organization and the Camarena murder.

Rodrigo Páez Quintero, nephew of Rafael Caro Quintero, was extradited to the U.S. earlier, on July 15, 2024. Arrested in Zapopan, Mexico, in April 2023, he faced federal conspiracy drug charges in Arizona. Known as "El R," he allegedly led a drug trafficking organization in Caborca, Sonora, and was involved in money laundering for the Caborca Cartel between 2017 and 2019. His extradition was less high-profile but still significant in the context of U.S.-Mexico efforts to dismantle cartel networks.

In its statement, the US DOJ says several of the extradited could face maximum of death penalties. This includes Rafael Caro Quintero and Vicente Carrillo Fuentes.

Many of the defendants were subject to longstanding U.S. extradition requests that were not honored during the prior Administration, but that the Mexican government elected to transfer to the current U.S. government in response to the Justice Department’s efforts pursuant to President Trump’s directive in Executive Order 14157, entitled Designating Cartels and Other Organizations as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists, to pursue total elimination of these Cartels. Federal prosecutors will evaluate whether additional terrorism and violence charges are appropriate based on the policy set forth in Executive Order 14157, and whether capital punishment is available based on Executive Order 14164, entitled Restoring the Death Penalty and Protecting Public Safety, as well as the Attorney General’s Feb. 5 guidance regarding the death penalty.

The handover was "historic," said Mike Vigil, a former chief of international operations at the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).