- Mexican drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, most wanted by the United States, has been recaptured in Mexico.
- This is reported by several news agencies, citing the Mexican Navy. Details of the arrest are not known.
- Caro Quintero was considered one of the most powerful drug lords in Mexico in the 1980s.
Caro Quintero ordered the murder of a DEA officer in 1985. The co-founder of the former Guadalajara cartel, the first major drug cartel in Mexico, has been on the run since 2013.
$20 million bounty on bounty
At that time he was released after 28 of 40 years in prison for alleged procedural errors. The Mexican Supreme Court overturned this decision, but by then Caro Quintero was already on the run.
The State Department in Washington put a $20 million bounty on his head. According to media reports, the drug lord has now been arrested by the Navy in the mountains of northern Mexico. Most recently, he is said to have led the smaller Caborca cartel.
Arrest interpreted as a Mexican gesture
The arrest of what used to be Mexico’s most powerful drug lord comes a few days after an official visit by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to Washington, where he was received by his US counterpart Joe Biden.
According to experts, it could be interpreted as a gesture of goodwill by Mexico towards Washington after tensions arose in the areas of security, investment and migration.