A former top Mexican cartel boss who masterminded the kidnap and murder of a US anti-drug agent, has been ordered released in Mexico, a court source said Friday.
A criminal court in the western state of Jalisco approved Rafael Caro Quintero’s release on August 7, a court official who asked not to be identified told AFP.
Caro Quintero has served 28 years in prison for the 1985 murder of US Drug Enforcement Administration special agent Enrique Camarena, who was kidnapped in Guadalajara and tortured and murdered.
Caro Quintero, 60, was informed of the court order early Friday and was awaiting a report from the Mexican federal attorney general over whether there were any other pending charges or extradition requests against him, the court official said.
Mexico’s federal prosecutors’ office had no immediate comment.
At least as of June, Caro Quintero was still wanted in California on charges related to the Camarena murder and to drug trafficking.
The court official said one of the reasons why the judge ordered the drug lord’s release was because Caro Quintero was tried in a federal court when he should have been tried in a common criminal court.
“Camarena was not accredited as either a diplomatic nor a consular agent,” the official said.
Camarena’s killing produced sharp tensions between the United States and Mexico, which experts say wound up leading to closer cooperation between the two countries on drug trafficking cases.
A founder of the Guadalajara cartel, Caro Quintero was arrested months after the murder in Costa Rica.
US DEA agent's murderer ordered released in Mexico
