Sinaloa Cartel, Drug Lords Sued By Family Of DEA Agent Infamously Tortured And Killed

The family of Enrique "Kiki" Camarena, the DEA agent infamously tortured and killed while investigating the Guadalajara cartel, is suing three drug lords and the Sinaloa cartel over the murder.

The lawsuit, reported by CBS News, is aimed at Rafael Caro-Quintero, Ernesto Fonseca-Carrillo, Miguel Angel Felix-Gallardo, as well as the Sinaloa Cartel, for which Caro-Quintero operated years ago.

Caro Quintero was extradited to the U.S. last month following an agreement with the Mexican government, and is now held in a U.S. prison. "Today sends a message to every cartel leader, every trafficker, every criminal poisoning our communities: You will be held accountable," said DEA Acting Administrator Derek S. Maltz at the time.

Caro-Quintero's appearance before a court in New York was marked by symbolism, as he wore the handcuffs that belonged to Camarena. They were given to authorities by the son of Camarena, also named Enrique, now a judge in California.

Fonseca-Carrillo, on his end, is under house arrest for his role in the murder. Felix-Gallardo was arrested in 1989 and sentenced to 40 years in prison.

Camarena, a Mexican-born U.S. naturalized citizen, managed to infiltrate the Guadalajara cartel, one of the first transnational criminal organizations in the country. The cartel was led by Caro Quintero and Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo, who together oversaw the trafficking of marijuana and cocaine to the United States.

After tipping off U.S. and Mexican authorities about the location of key cartel locations, including a 2,500-acre plantation in Chihuahua, Camarena was kidnapped in Guadalajara in 1985. He was tortured for over 30 hours and finally murdered, his body later found in a rural area in Michoacan.

The killing sparked a diplomatic clash between the U.S. and Mexico, with the former accusing the latter of helping the cartel. The U.S. launched "Operation Leyenda," the largest DEA homicide investigation ever carried out. Mexican authorities ended up arresting Caro Quintero in 1985 in Costa Rica. Felix Gallardo was apprehended four years later. The story was brought back to the spotlight in the Netflix series "Narcos: Mexico."