U.S. Weighs Death Penalty for Mexican Drug Lord Caro Quintero Decades After DEA Agent's Murder
Prosecutors given 90 days to seek capital punishment for Rafael Caro Quintero following extradition and Brooklyn court appearance; Case holds deep symbolic weight for U.S. law enforcement after 1985 killing of Enrique 'Kiki' Camarena.
Decades after the brutal murder of a U.S. federal agent sent shockwaves through U.S.-Mexico relations, notorious Mexican drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero appeared in a Brooklyn federal court Friday, marking a pivotal moment in a long and complex pursuit of justice. Now, U.S. prosecutors face a weighty decision: whether to seek the death penalty against the man widely blamed for the 1985 kidnapping, torture, and killing of DEA Special Agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena.
Following Caro Quintero's recent extradition from Mexico, prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York confirmed they are considering capital punishment. During the initial hearing before Judge Frederic Block, Assistant U.S. Attorney Saritha Komatireddy stated that the death penalty "is a possibility." The prosecution team has been granted 90 days, until late July, to formally declare its intention, a move that would require authorization from U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.
