DoJ to give up audio tapes of killing and torture of DEA agent Kiki Camarena

Source: The Guardian

DoJ to give up audio tapes of killing and torture of DEA agent Kiki Camarena

Major development in case against Rafael Caro Quintero accused of taking part in Camarena’s 1985 murder in Mexico

José Olivares
Sun 6 Jul 2025 14.31 BST
Last modified on Sun 6 Jul 2025 14.41 BST

The US justice department has begun to hand over audio recordings of the 1985 torture and killing of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) special agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena to a Mexican kingpin’s legal defense team, according to a court document filed on Friday.

Rafael Caro Quintero, one of the founders of the Mexican Guadalajara cartel, is facing federal prosecution in the eastern district of New York for alleged drug trafficking. Caro Quintero is accused of having participated in Camarena’s torture and murder in 1985 in Mexico.

Camarena was a 37-year-old DEA agent based in Mexico in the 1980s, who, along with his pilot, was kidnapped, tortured, interrogated and killed by organized crime figures. His torture and murder marked a significant shift in the US government’s war on drugs, leading to an aggressive push by the US to wipe out the Guadalajara cartel. After top leaders of the organization were caught and arrested, like Caro Quintero, remnants of the group created the Sinaloa cartel, which remains active to this day.

The tapes have never been made public before but transcripts of some of the interrogation audio were revealed in a 1988 federal court case. ...

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/06/dea-agent-kiki-camarena