The Sonora Cartel , also known as Caro Quintero Organization , was a Mexico based criminal cartel . Upon the cartel's disintegration, its leaders were incorporated into the Tijuana Cartel and Sinaloa Cartel .
39-669: By 2007, the Sonora Cartel, Colima Cartel , and Milenio Cartel became branches of the Sinaloa Cartel . The Sonora Cartel was considered by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to be one of the oldest and best-established cartels. The Sonora cartel was headed by Miguel Caro Quintero , brother to Guadalajara Cartel co-founder Rafael Caro Quintero , and operated out of Hermosillo , Agua Prieta , Guadalajara and Culiacán , as well as
78-627: A cartel, I'd have a lot of money and my brother wouldn't be there (in jail)" and claiming to be an innocent rancher. He further stated he does not believe his brother was involved in the killing of the DEA agent. Rafael Caro Quintero is the co-founder, with Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo , of the Guadalajara Cartel and Sonora Cartel. He was arrested in Costa Rica on April 4, 1985, for the kidnapping, torture and murder of federal agent Enrique Camarena , and
117-482: A major threat to the Guadalajara cartel's operations throughout Mexico. In response, Félix Gallardo reportedly ordered the kidnapping of Camarena. On February 7, 1985, Jalisco police officers on the cartel's payroll kidnapped Camarena as he left the U.S. consulate in Guadalajara. His helicopter pilot, Alfredo Zavala Avelar, was kidnapped shortly afterward. They were taken to a residence located at 881 Lope de Vega in
156-481: A medium-security prison in Guadalajara (State of Jalisco), due to his declining health. On 20 February 2019, a court in Mexico City denied his request to complete the remainder of his sentence at his home. The court stated that Félix Gallardo's defense did not provide them with sufficient evidence to prove that his health issues were putting his life at risk. On September 12, 2022, it was reported that Félix Gallardo
195-511: Is a convicted Mexican drug kingpin who was one of the founders of the Guadalajara Cartel , which controlled much of the drug trafficking in Mexico and the corridors along the Mexico–United States border in the 1980s. Félix Gallardo was arrested in 1989 for ordering the murder of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena . He was serving his 40-year sentence at
234-570: Is believed to have obtained large quantities of the precursor ephedrine through contacts in Thailand and India , and then distributed it to different methamphetamine labs in Mexico and the United States . The Colima cartel has become a branch of the Sinaloa Cartel as are the Milenio Cartel , Guadalajara Cartel , and Sonora Cartels . The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) traces
273-437: Is not allowed to leave, even to use the recreational area. In March 2013, Félix Gallardo started a legal process to continue his prison sentence at home when he reached his 70th birthday (8 January 2016). On 29 April 2014, a Mexican federal court denied Félix Gallardo's petition to be transferred from the maximum-security prison to a medium-security one. On 18 December 2014, federal authorities approved his request to transfer to
312-629: The Altiplano maximum-security prison but was transferred to a medium-security facility in 2014 due to his declining health. Born on a ranch in Bellavista, on the outskirts of Culiacán, Sinaloa , Félix Gallardo graduated from high school and studied business in college. He took a job as a Mexican Federal Judicial Police agent. He worked as a family bodyguard for the governor of Sinaloa state Leopoldo Sánchez Celis , whose political connections helped Félix Gallardo to build his drug trafficking organization. He
351-869: The Cali Cartel . The cartel was involved in the cultivation and distribution of marijuana primarily, however secondary functions include the transportation and distribution of methamphetamine . Operating out of northern central Mexico, the cartel was believed to smuggle drugs into Arizona , Texas and California from a network of ranches along the northern border region where the drugs are stored prior to shipment. The Sonora Cartel has been specifically linked to operating out of Hermosillo and Agua Prieta in Sonora , but also less so in Guadalajara in Jalisco , Culiacán in Sinaloa , and
390-571: The Mexican Drug War . Félix Gallardo was initially sentenced to 40 years of prison. After serving 28 years, a 2017 retrial sentenced him to an additional 37 years. While incarcerated, Félix Gallardo remained one of Mexico's major traffickers, maintaining his organization via mobile phone. After his arrest, Félix Gallardo decided to divide up the trade he controlled as it would be more efficient and less likely to be brought down by law enforcement. Félix Gallardo instructed his lawyer to convene
429-464: The New York Times reported two of the three charges Luis and Jesús Amezcua Contreras were facing were dropped. Judge José Nieves Luna Castro dropped from each, one count of criminal association and money laundering , saying they had been charged under statutes that were not in effect at the time of their alleged crimes, leaving one remaining charge for each of the brothers. May 2001, Adán Amezcua
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#1732851683382468-438: The Sinaloa Cartel , which was not a party to the 1989 pact. When Félix Gallardo was transferred to a high-security prison in 1993, he lost any remaining control over the other drug lords. As he aged, Félix Gallardo complained that he lived in poor conditions while in jail. He says that he suffers from vertigo , deafness, loss of an eye, and blood circulation problems. He lives in a 240 × 440 cm (8x14ft) cell, which he
507-570: The Colima Cartel continues operating in the states of Baja California, Nuevo León, Aguascalientes, Jalisco, Colima, Michoacán and Mexico City. In October 2008, authorities of the U.S. Department of Treasury , on the basis of financial information and arrests of drug traffickers, identified that the Amezcua Contreras Organization has a two leaders who are still at large: Patricia Amezcua Contreras, (sister of Adan, Jesus and Luis) who
546-615: The Mexican former counter-narcotics agency, the Fiscalía Especial para Atención a los Delitos contra la Salud (FEADS). He is being held in the maximum security prison of Almoloya, sentenced to 49 years in prison. The Colima Cartel at the time of the arrests of Luis and Jesús was believed to be "the most prominent methamphetamine trafficking organization operating ... as well as the leading supplier of chemicals to other methamphetamine trafficking organizations" Within nine days of their arrest,
585-480: The Mexican states of Nayarit , Sinaloa and Sonora . The Sonora cartel's roots are in the Guadalajara Cartel, which dissolved after the 1989 arrest of its co-founder, Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo . The Sonora cartel had direct links to Colombian drug cartels and operated routes into California , Arizona , Texas and Nevada . Rafael Caro Quintero was arrested in Costa Rica in 1985 in connection with
624-494: The Sinaloa governor's house as a guest, which governor Antonio Toledo Corro has denied. When asked about his association with Félix Gallardo, governor Toledo said he was "unaware of any outstanding arrest warrants" against Félix Gallardo. The arrest of Félix Gallardo was the catalyst for exposing the widespread corruption at political and law enforcement levels in Mexico. Within days of Félix Gallardo's arrest, and under pressure from
663-707: The States of Nayarit and Durango . Acquired by the Sinaloa Cartel by 2007, the Sonora Cartel was reported as defunct at the time of Miguel Angel Caro Quintero's conviction in 2010. Despite their eventual releases from prison, the Caro Quintero brothers have lost influence in the Mexican drug business, with ex-DEA agent Mike Vigil even stating in the June 2020 that Rafael Caro Quintero "will fall before he dies of old age." Vigil also revealed that Sinaloa Cartel's Los Salazar affiliate
702-455: The colonia of Jardines del Bosque, in the western section of the city of Guadalajara, owned by Rafael Caro Quintero, where they were tortured and interrogated over a period of 30 hours. On February 9, Camarena was tortured and murdered. Autopsy results indicated that he died when his skull was perforated with a drill. He was injected with adrenaline and other drugs to be kept awake during his torture and interrogation. His body, wrapped in plastic,
741-960: The end of the 1980s, the Guadalajara Cartel headed by Félix Gallardo (comprising what is now known today as the Sinaloa , Tijuana , Juarez and Pacifico Sur cartels) had nearly monopolized the illegal drug trade in Mexico. In 1980, DEA special agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena was assigned to the Administration's resident agency in Guadalajara . Working through informants, Camarena discovered cartel marijuana plantations in Zacatecas state. The plantations were raided and destroyed. In 1984, Mexican soldiers, backed by helicopters, destroyed an even larger 1,000 hectare (≈2,500 acre ) marijuana plantation known as "Rancho Búfalo" in Chihuahua , known to be protected by Mexican DFS intelligence agents, as part of "Operation Godfather". Thousands of farmers worked
780-493: The fields at Rancho Búfalo, and the annual production was later valued at US$ 8 billion. All of this took place with the knowledge of local police, politicians, and the military. Camarena was beginning to expose the connections among drug traffickers, Mexican law enforcement, and high-ranking government officials within the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI), which Félix Gallardo considered to be
819-530: The first two tiers of their organization, "insulating the structure." Relatives and close friends comprised the first two tiers who then recruited low level, non related individuals to operate the methamphetamine elaboration process and the smuggling into the United States. On November 10, 1997, Adán Amezcua was arrested in his hometown of Colima on weapons charges. On June 1, 1998, Luis and Jesús Amezcua were arrested in Guadalajara, Jalisco , by agents from
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#1732851683382858-403: The foundations of the Colima Cartel in 1988. What separated the Colima Cartel from other trafficking operations was their control of the methamphetamine trade, instead of receiving a percentage of goods smuggled for Colombian cartels. The cartel was able to pact with the previous motorcycle gangs and independent traffickers who once dominated the methamphetamine trade in the U.S. The cartel
897-422: The hand-written notes to Osorno. The memoirs include narrative about his arrest and presentation before police, and explains a bit of his family tree, jumping from one topic to another. Selections of the 35 pages were published in the Mexican magazine Gatopardo , with background by the journalist. Upon his arrest at least nine of Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo's nieces and nephews took over different roles within
936-423: The largest Colombian drug cartels. Rather than taking cash payments for their services, the smugglers in the Guadalajara Cartel took a 50% cut of the cocaine they transported from Colombia. This proved to be extremely profitable for them, with some estimating that the trafficking network, then operated by Félix Gallardo, Ernesto Carrillo and Rafael Quintero, was pulling in approximately $ 5 billion annually. Until
975-452: The media, several police commanders were arrested with as many as 90 officers deserting. Félix Gallardo's arrest also led to the dismantling of the Guadalajara Cartel, as key members of the federation chose to withdraw and form their own cartels, relying on violence to claim various territories and trafficking routes. The continuous disputes and conflict among the leaders would breed political, social, and military chaos, and eventually lead to
1014-655: The nation's top drug narcos in 1989 at a house in the resort of Acapulco where he designated the plazas or territories. The Tijuana route would go to his nephews, the Arellano Felix brothers . The Ciudad Juárez route would go to the Carrillo Fuentes family . Miguel Caro Quintero would run the Sonora corridor . Joaquín Guzmán Loera and Héctor Luis Palma Salazar were left the Pacific coast operations, with Ismael Zambada García joining them soon after and thus forming
1053-607: The primary suspects in the kidnapping. Under pressure from the US, Fonseca and Quintero were apprehended, but Félix Gallardo still enjoyed political protection. Félix Gallardo kept a low profile and, in 1987, moved with his family to Guadalajara . He was arrested in Mexico on April 8, 1989, and was charged by the authorities in Mexico and the United States with the kidnapping and murder of DEA agent Enrique Camarena, as well as racketeering , drug smuggling, and multiple violent crimes. According to US officials, Félix Gallardo also spent time at
1092-418: The torture and death of DEA Special Agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena . Miguel Caro Quintero would eventually be arrested in 1989, however it was believed he still maintained control over the organization from behind bars. By 2007, however, the Sinaloa Cartel had acquired the Sonora Cartel. The Sonora Cartel is believed to be one of the earliest cartels to begin shipping cocaine from Colombia , particularly from
1131-485: Was also charged with violent crimes in aid of racketeering , possession with intent to distribute marijuana and cocaine , murder, continuing criminal enterprise. Colima Cartel The Colima Cartel ( Spanish : Cártel de Colima ) was a Mexican drug trafficking and methamphetamine producing cartel operating in Guadalajara, Jalisco . It was founded and led by José de Jesús Amezcua Contreras and supported by his brothers Adán and Luis . The Colima Cartel
1170-511: Was also the godfather of Sánchez Celis' son, Rodolfo. Félix Gallardo started working for drug traffickers brokering corruption of state officials, and together with Rafael Caro Quintero and Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo , who previously worked in the Avilés criminal organization , took control of the trafficking routes after Avilés was killed in a police shootout. In the early 1980s, drug interdiction efforts increased throughout Florida , which
1209-507: Was arrested in December 2001 in Los Mochis , Sinaloa. Prior to his arrest he repeatedly stated he is innocent of the charges and has accused the DEA of pursuing a vendetta against him for his brother, Rafael Caro Quintero's, alleged role in the death of DEA Special Agent Enrique Camarena. Miguel Caro Quintero is noted as having called into a radio station to profess his innocence, stating: "If I had
Sonora Cartel - Misplaced Pages Continue
1248-453: Was arrested on money laundering charges. In May 2002, a federal court blocked the scheduled extradition of José de Jesús Amezcua to the United States to face drug trafficking charges because the U.S. extradition request did not comply with Mexico's requirement that extradited criminals not face the possibility of capital punishment or a life sentence . In the year 2005, authorities arrested 1,785 collaborators of this cartel. Despite this,
1287-453: Was born in Caborca , Sonora , Mexico, in 1963. Previously arrested in 1992 on charges of tax evasion , he was found not guilty, which the DEA attributes to the use of threats and bribes by Caro Quintero. While imprisoned, it is believed Caro Quintero was still running the Sonora Cartel, where he is purging a prison sentence for racketeering , drug smuggling and money laundering . Caro Quintero
1326-574: Was created in 1988 and originally it only operated by trafficking cocaine for the Colombian cartels, but later turned into trafficking and processing of methamphetamine. By 1992 the Colima Cartel, through operations as a business, was able to establish amphetamine contacts in Switzerland , India , Germany and the Czech Republic . The DEA has reported the Colima Cartel recruited relatives to operate at
1365-507: Was found with that of pilot Alfredo Zavala Avelar, in a shallow hole on a ranch in Michoacan state. The murder prompted one of the largest DEA homicide investigations ever undertaken, Operation Leyenda. A special unit was dispatched to coordinate the investigation in Mexico, where corrupt officials were being implicated. Investigators identified Félix Gallardo and his two close associates, Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo and Rafael Caro Quintero, as
1404-418: Was granted house arrest and would be moved on September 13, 2022. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador released a statement about his transfer. "I do not want anyone to suffer. I do not want anyone to be in jail." In 2008, the investigative journalist Diego Enrique Osorno was able to contact Félix Gallardo through the latter's 13-year-old son. Félix Gallardo secretly wrote about his life and passed
1443-484: Was now a major figure in Sonora's drug trafficking business. However, both Rafael and Miguel Caro Quintero had recently rejected offers to join the Sinaloa Cartel due to a fallout with the sons of imprisoned former leader Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán over leadership status. Despite this, both were said to be on good terms with de jure Sinaloa Cartel leader Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, who was now in poor health. Miguel Caro Quintero
1482-658: Was responsible for the overall operations, and Telesforo Baltazar Tirado Escamilla, who with his company Collins Group directed traffic of pseudoephedrine . They had been helped by their sons and lieutenants Rolando, Luis Alfonso Tirado Diaz and Trinidad Ramirez (Compa Trini) By this point in time, however, the Colima Cartel was listed as having only lieutenants and Pseudoephedrine Diversion operatives and not an actual leader. Miguel %C3%81ngel F%C3%A9lix Gallardo Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo (born January 8, 1946), commonly referred to by his aliases El Jefe de Jefes ('The Boss of Bosses') and El Padrino ('The Godfather'),
1521-403: Was then the major shipping destination for illegal drug traffickers. As a result, the Colombian cartels began to utilize Mexico as their primary trans-shipment point. Juan Matta-Ballesteros was the Guadalajara Cartel's primary connection to the Colombian cartels, as he had originally introduced Félix Gallardo's predecessor, Alberto Sicilia Falcón, to Santiago Ocampo of the Cali Cartel , one of
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