The four-part series, released in July, tells the true story of Enrique "Kiki" Camarena, a special agent with the DEA, who was kidnapped, tortured and murdered in Guadalajara, Mexico in 1985.. Moreover, the Enrique S. Camarena Foundation is committed to the prevention of drug use, trafficking, and violence. Throughout season one, we don't know who, exactly, is relating the story of doomed DEA agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena. LewRockwell.com and from On March 5, his body was found in a field in a town more than 50 miles from where he was taken, reported The New York Times. Enrique S. "Kiki" Camarena Salazar (July 26, 1947 - February 9, 1985) was a Mexican-born American undercover agent for the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) who was abducted on February 7, 1985, and then tortured and murdered, while on assignment in Mexico. A CIA operative conspired with a drug kingpin to plan the brutal murder of a DEA Agent, according to multiple witnesses who have been re-interviewed about the 1985 case. On March 9, his body was flown from Mexico to the U.S. for his funeral (pictured above). Send him email. Physical Description 1 videocassette (Umatic) (1 min., 54 sec.) It would be the last time Camarena was seen alive. He is. : sd., col. ; 3/4 in. In the ongoing cat-and-mouse. The Amazon Prime series provides the real backstory of what happened to Camarena and why. . The CIA has denied the allegations. eventAction: 'click_image_ads' The men, who worked for one of Mexicos most powerful drug cartels,forced Camarena intotheir car and drove himto a cramped guest house nearby, where he was beaten, burned and eventually killed. First in an exclusive Tico Times series in two parts. if(document.querySelector("#ads")){ Camarena was also a Special Agent on the original Imperial County Narcotic Task Force (ICNTF) while working in Calexico, California. Set in the 1980s, the plot revolves around how an undercover agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Enrique S "Kiki" Camarena Salazar comes into the picture and tries to catch the drug traffickers red-handed. Thats the way that Camarena comes across in all three of these series. It helped bring his killers to justice, and exposed Mexican police corruption. He has advanced freedom and free markets on talk-radio stations all across the country as well as on Fox News Neil Cavuto and Greta van Susteren shows and he appeared as a regular commentator on Judge Andrew Napolitanos show Freedom Watch. U.S.officials turned to some cartel associates to helpillegallyarm and equip rebelsbattlingthe Sandinista government in Nicaragua in what came to be known as the Iran-contra affair. document.querySelector("#adunit").addEventListener('click',function(){ In the latest installment of the Netflix drug drama, Camarena ( Michael Pena) moves his family to Mexico for a post in the DEA's Guadalajara office in 1981. On February 7, 1985, the cartel struck, seizing Camarena as he left the office to meet Mika for lunch. A few of the men charged in the case remain fugitives. He decided not to become a police officer because his dad thought it was too dangerous, according to NBC San Diego, which quoted him as saying, I grab a little bit from one supervisor, I grab a little bit from another, and added on to me to become who I am today., Judge Enrique Camarena Jr. is speaking to @MSASanDiego 6th Graders. } Anyone can figure out that that sort of thing is just going to get the U.S. government even more determined to come after you. NARCOS: MEXICO Official Trailer "Agent Kiki Camarena" (HD) Michael Pena Series, SUBSCRIBE for more TV Trailers HERE: goo.gl/TL21HZ He gave his life for his work. The United States government pursued a lengthy investigation of Camarenas murder. Some of the prosecution efforts began to unravel in 1997 when the credibility of agovernmentwitness, and scientific testimony he introduced, came under scrutiny. Camarena's captors beat and burned him, before using a power tool to drill into his skull. He also worked as a Special Agent on the original Imperial County Narcotic Task Force (ICNTF). He stated that all three of the men are said to 'have witnessed CIA operatives working alongside cartel members.'. the DEA and the National Family Partnership observe Red Ribbon Week to honor Kiki Camarena . In his four-year stint, he gathered much information on the drug cartels and chased several traffickers. U.S. agents working in Mexico reported being tailed by cartel operatives, and one agents car was shot up by machine gun fire outside his house. Agent Camarena, 37, a father of three children, was murdered in 1985 by drug cartel members in Guadalajara, Mexico. His assignment: Work undercover to expose and bring down the cartel responsible for smuggling drugs across the U.S.-Mexico border. Some told startling stories, alleging that U.S. officials had secretly been involved with a cartel that was delivering huge quantities of marijuana and cocaine to the USA, according to people familiar with the case who were not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly. Actually taping Kiki." Other investigators intimately involved in the investigation into Camarena's death also echoed similar claims. Enrique 'Kiki' Camarena arrived in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 1980 , when the Guadalajara Cartel was beginning to prosper transporting cocaine that arrived from Colombia. The show, in both seasons 1 and 2, traces the growth of the drug trade, moving the series setting from Colombia to Guadalajara, Mexico. You can read about him here. Years later, another Justice Department review found he had repeatedly created scientifically unsupportable lab reports and provided false, misleading, or inaccurate testimony at criminal trials.. When the War on Drugs set off in 1971, the U.S. government was leading the charge in trying to prohibit the sale, use, and transfer of illegal narcotics in the states. In a shocking twist in season one finale, Felix is free and back under police protection. Hes been in custody since 1989, however. Taken at Gallardo ranch, he was tortured for 30 hours before being brutally murdered. its ridiculous to suggest that the CIA had anything to do with the murder of a U.S. federal agent or the escape of his killer.[. eventAction: 'view' At the end of the day if a consenting adult wishes to get stoned on weed or high on coke thats his/her choice and providing they arent breaking the law or hurting anyone (but themselves) then whos business is it? Rafael Caro. In 1984-85, Camarena was working on a major case against "Rancho Bufalo," a marijuana plantation. In March 1985, the DEA recovered the body of Kiki Camarena, 37, who left behind Mika and three children named Enrique, Daniel, and Erik. Gallardo was sentenced to 37 years in 2017 for the death of Camarena by a Mexican court (as well as the murder of Alfredo Zavala, a Mexican pilot), according to The Times. The previous seasons focused on the rise and fall of Pablo Escobar and the Cali Cartel. UK orders only if you live outside the UK email me belfastchildis@googlemail.com and Ill send you a link for ordering outside the UK. Narcos: Mexico shows the growth of the Guadalajara Cartel, pieced together by Felix Gallardo out of warring factions. You cant just put it in a drawer and forget about it, said one official, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the case and did so only on condition of anonymity. And Im going to be serving my county, serving this community in a different way., Kiki Camarena spent three years in Calexico for the DEA before he was assigned to the agencys Fresno office and then to Mexico, where he worked out of its office in Guadalajara. ), Young woman left in tears after her huge back tattoo doesn't turn out as expected: 'I'm stuck with this for the rest of my life', Don Lemon will be forced to have 'formal training' after 'frank' talks with CNN boss Chris Licht following 'sexist' Nikki Haley comment and rift with Kaitlan Collins but will return to morning show on Wednesday, 'If Don doesn't go, we will! . This is the story of Camarena, the drug cartel he infiltrated, and the narc who . He saw the possibility and the signs of an empire being builtthis narcotics empireand he wanted to put an end to it because he saw what it could possibly become.. The Mexican drug lord, whose role in ordering the kidnapping and murder of a US drugs enforcement agent in 1985 was featured in Netflix drama Narcos: Mexico, has been captured. }) Berrellez, the former DEA agent who ran the task force investigating his murder, has said for years that the CIA was involved. Camarena served in the Marines for two years, was a firefighter and police officer and deputy sheriff in California, and then joined the DEA in 1974. 'Very open to the idea': Julia Wandelt takes DNA test to verify if she is missing Swiss girl Livia Schepp, Kayla Lemieux: Teacher with prosthetic Z-cup breasts suspended WITH PAY after pics show her dressed as man, 'We have lots to reveal': Madeleine McCann lookalike Julia Wandelt posts footage of meeting with PI probing claims, Lindsay Clancy case: Psychologist reveals psychosis red flags family members could have spotted, Alex Murdaugh's son Buster 'collapsed' outside court after dad was convicted of double murder. They told her they were investigating the claim, but she said they did not provide details. ga('ads.send', { pg.acq.push(function() { A manhunt would follow, but it would take a month before they discovered what happened to Camarena. He keeps a crumpled copy of his immunity agreement in his jacket pocket. Three of the witnesses former Mexican police officers Ramon Lira, Rene Lopez and George Godoy, who had worked as security guards for cartel kingpins spoke with USA TODAY and recounted that they told investigators a DEA official and a CIA operative were present at meetings where Camarenas abduction was discussed. But in 2013, Quintero was released from jail on a technicality, and is now onis now on the FBI's most-wanted list, with authorities offering a $20 million reward for his capture. In 1987, Mr. Hornberger left the practice of law to become director of programs at the Foundation for Economic Education. The Reagan Administration predictably freaked out and exercised its power. Investigatorsare pursuing additional witnesses to see whether the allegations can be corroborated. Like it or not the demand and market for the supply and distribution of drugs is a fact of modern life and thats never going to change. Prosecutors in Los Angeles brought a series of criminal cases accusing cartel operatives of taking part in Camarenas kidnapping and murder. We need to make justice.. lvarez subsequently initiated acivil suitagainst the U.S. government, charging that his arrest had breached the U.S.Mexico extradition treaty. }); In its spin-off, 'Narcos: Mexico' goes on to show the Guadalajara cartel's ascent as Miguel ngel Flix Gallardo (Diego Luna), Rafael Caro Quintero (Tenoch Huerta Mejia), and Don Neto, aka Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo (Joaqun Cosio), join hands. His full name was Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo, and, in real life, he was a brutal and clever man called El Padrino AKA The Godfather. Michael Malone, a longtime FBI agent and prolific expert witness, testified that hair samples taken from two suspects on trial in Camarenas murder Rene Verdugo and Juan Matta-Ballesteros matched hair recovered from the guest house where Camarena was tortured;therefore, it was compelling evidence putting both men at the scene of the crime. Actor Diego Luna: "We are still living the consequences" of real-life story told in drug war series "Narcos: Mexico." This new chapter in Narcos' story, as . They blindfolded him and, between questions, beat and burned him. Amazingly, Gallardo was only recently sentenced in the death (hed been sentenced before but a retrial was ordered; he never left prison after 1989, though). He was born and raised in Laredo, Texas, and received his B.A. There is too many ghosts behind me. However, he would make a fatal mistake, and season 2 deals with the aftermath of it: The murder of Camarena, and how the DEA responded to it. We need to make justice. The case eventually reached theU.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that lvarez was not entitled to relief. To get the message across loud and clear, President Ronald Reagan even completely shut down the U.S.-Mexico border, causing an unbelievable backlog of traffic on the Mexican side of the border. Hundreds of club members including Calexico High School teacher David Dhillon wore red ribbons and pledged to lead drug-free lives to honor the sacrifices made by Kiki Camarena and . eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), Alas, we've come to the unforgettable tragedy of season 1 of Narcos: Mexico. The bottom line: Gallardo went way too far by targeting Camarena. While prosecutors were deciding whether or not to re-try the two men, they interviewed the three witnesses, where the allegations about the CIA involvement was revealed. Two former US law enforcement agents and an ex-CIA contractor have told an American television network that Enrique "Kiki" Camarena - the undercover DEA agent whose 1985 torture and murder in. Virtually every step of the way, the government has disregarded both the law and ethical standards of professional conduct in its zeal to make an example of Rene Verdugo, one of his lawyers, John Lemon, wrote in a court filing in 2018 after a federal judge threw out both convictions. He makes a swashbuckling entry and reclaims his cartel! }) It would be the last time Camarena was seen alive. Camarena was kidnapped and killed during a harrowing time in efforts to stop drugs from pouring across the U.S. southern border. He is surrounded, gagged, and shoved into a beige Volkswagen. The altered state of the various crime scenes from which evidence was recovered, however, initially complicated the integrity of the investigation. RELATED: Ranked: Top 10 Most Dangerous Characters On Narcos An Encounter with Evil: The Abraham Zapruder Story, JFKs Remarkable Peace Speech that Sealed His Fate, Why They Hated Kennedy, and Why They Killed Him, Conservative Mental Dichotomy on the Draft, An Old-Line Conservative Weighs in on the JFK Assassination. The Justice Department began reexamining the case last year after admitting that forensic evidence used to convict two men in Camarenas death was badly flawed. We sell bronze life-size busts of Kiki that are unveiled in schools and libraries throughout the country, not just in San Diego. In order to maintain control and enforce these anti-drugs laws, a new federal agency was born. The tape was also used in the federal trial against the three Mexican cartel bosses who ordered his kidnapping. Killing Rage The life and death of EamonCollins. Corrupt Mexican government officials allied with Flix Gallardo's drug cartel torture DEA Agent Kiki Camarena for information about what the Agency's got on various unnamed politicians, in. The Justice Department declined to answer questions about the case. All three series tell the story of Kiki Camarena, a 37-year-old DEA agent assigned to work in Mexico during the 1980s. He attended high school in Calexico (a portmanteau of California and Mexico) where he met high school sweetheart and future wife, Geneva 'Mika' Camarena. The capture and murder of Enrique "Kiki" Camarena was a brazen moment in the drug war By Will Grant BBC News, Guadalajara Twenty seven years ago, the kidnap, torture and murder of a US Drug. Close US-Mexicanborder? ga('ads.send', { We are one of the worlds fastest growing In 1985, Camarena was kidnapped, brutally tortured, and then executed. Criminal cases seldom improve with age as both memories and evidence fade, and the investigation of Camarenas murder has produced reams of conflicting evidence that would make any new prosecution especially challenging. B-roll. The interrogation was directed at finding out what information Camarena had about the cartel. The Netflix series details the background of the case and how this horrendous crime unfolded. Berrellez, the former DEA agent who once ran the task force investigating his murder, has said for years that the CIA was involved. Trump and US face logistical nightmare if he follows through with threats, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Whats the true story? As he lay dying, a cartel doctor was ordered to keep him alert by administering drugs.. He was likely injected with drugs to ensure he remained conscious throughout the ordeal. More than three decades after the incident, U.S. authorities are investigating potentially explosive new evidence in the case: allegations that Camarena was betrayed. In the 1990s, Mattas lawyers tried to force the government to turn over information about the CIAs alleged involvement. It is unclear how much weight authorities ascribe to the allegations, but theyinterviewed the witnesses several times, questioning them for hours about Camarenas murder and a series of meetings in the months before. And revealing as well! Seventeen years elapsed, however, before prosecutors informed Verdugo that the testimony linking him to a hair found at the murder scene exceeded the limits of science. By then, Verdugo had been in prison for 32 years. Kiki and Fredy were tortured for information for a period of over 30 hours, resulting in their deaths. Enrique " Kiki " Camarena Salazar (July 26, 1947 - February 9, 1985) was an American intelligence officer for the United States (DEA). Thirty-five years later, three former cartel insiders share unprecedented details. One telling scene seamlessly transitions . After his military service, he moved back to his hometown of Calexico, California to work as a fireman and then became a police officer in the Calexico Police Department. Roberto Savianos non-fiction bookZero Zero Zero(2015) deals in part with Camarenas undercover work and his eventual fate. These psychos were obviously baying for blood Mod blood, to beexact. if(document.querySelector("#adunit")){ TheHistory ChanneldocumentaryHeroes Under Fire: Righteous Vendetta(2005) chronicles the events and features interviews with family members, DEA agents, and others involved in the investigation. "In (Camarena's) interrogation room, I was told by Mexican authorities that CIA operatives were in there," Phil Jordan, a former CIA agent, told Fox News in 2013. According to The San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper. The DEA assigned the case to a special agent named Hector Berrellez,a highly decorated DEA special agent who plays the central role in The Last Narc. According to Heath's report on the autopsy, cadaver number one, as the Red Cross doctors labeled it, was that of a muscular Hispanic male in his thirties, with black hair and dark brown eyes. Camarena, 37, who was known by the nickname "Kiki," served in the U.S. Marine Corps before moving into law enforcement and becoming a DEA agent in 1975. A federal court rejected the request, saying there was no evidence tying the government to the smuggling ring. Who wants A signed copy of my No.1 best selling book ? Accused cartel boss Rafael Caro-Quintero has been wanted in connection with Camarenas death since he was indicted in 1987. After presentation of the governments case, the judge ruled that there was insufficient evidence to support a guilty verdict, and charges were dropped. Golden Brown The Stranglers: Iconic Songs & the story behindthem. Kiki Camarena was born Enrique (Kiki) S. Camarena on July 26, 1947, in Mexicali, Mexico. Death squads being trained at Caro Quintero's ranch in Mexico. He was a Marine. He also was an adjunct professor at the University of Dallas, where he taught law and economics. In October 2013, two former federal agents and a self-proclaimed ex-CIAcontractor told an American television network that CIA operatives were involved in Camarenas kidnapping and murder, because he was a threat to the agencys drug operations in Mexico. In the spin-off seriesNarcos: Mexico, Camarena is played by American actorMichael Pea. Camarena received many awards and is considered an American hero. Enrique Camarena Salazar Whats my thoughts ? It was not the first time someone had claimed that U.S. intelligence was entangled with the cartel responsible for Camarenas death. He was injected with amphetamines and other drugs to ensure that he remained conscious while being tortured over a 30-hour period, culminating with a hole drilled into his head with a power drill." What's the real story of the death of Kiki Camarena? The four other defendants, Vsquez Velasco,Juan Ramn Matta-Ballesteros, Juan Jos Bernab Ramrez, and Rubn Zuno Arce (a brother-in-law of former PresidentLuis Echeverra), were tried and found guilty of Camarenas kidnapping. This video is for entertainment purposes only. Teams of federal agents descended on Guadalajara, and more worked the case from the USA. Due to the difficulty ofextraditingMexican citizens, the DEA went as far as to detain two suspects,Humberto lvarez Machan, the physician who allegedly prolonged Camarenas life so the torture could continue, and Javier Vsquez Velasco; both were taken bybounty huntersinto the United States. The U.S. government effectively closed the border with Mexico to pressure its reluctant Mexican counterparts. In November 1988,TIMEmagazine featured Camarena on the cover. eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), Before Camarena's death, DEA units in . Season 1. Narcos Kiki Camarena Scene Mark Marquez 125 subscribers Subscribe 3.9K Share 487K views 7 years ago I do not own this video. }); Indirectly, they (the CIA) have got to take some of the blame. He alleged the CIA protected the DFS for decades, and stated, The DFS just got out of hand., Kiki Camarena Death: The Real Story of the DEA Agents Murder, Please review our privacy policy here: https://heavy.com/privacy-policy/, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. Video footage from the KXAS-TV/NBC station in Fort Worth, Texas, to accompany a news story about the arrest of Dr. Humberto lvarez-Machan in Los Angeles for the murder and kidnapping of DEA agent Enrique S. "Kiki" Camarena Salazar. Belfast Books Thanks for promoting my bookmate. He discovered why there were people who deemed it necessary to kidnap and torture Camarena rather than simply kill him. The nationwide annualRed Ribbon Week, which teaches school children and youths to avoid drug use, was established in his memory. Enrique Camarena Salaza lahir di . They dropped the murder case against Matta, although he remains in prison on a drug trafficking charge, and agreed to let Verdugo plead guilty to a reduced charge and be deported to Mexico. His skull, jaw, nose, cheekbones andwindpipewere crushed, his ribs were broken, and a hole was drilled into his head with a power drill. The opening scene and new credit sequence reveal that Kiki gets abducted by the boss of the Guadalajara cartel, Felix Gallardo (played by Diego Luna). Set in the 1980s, the plot revolves around how an undercover agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Enrique S "Kiki" Camarena Salazar . Despite vigorous protests from the Mexican government, lvarez was brought to trial inLos Angelesin 1992. According to a report published Thursday in USA Today, 'US Justice Department agents and prosecutors have obtained statements from the witnesses implicating a Central Intelligence Agency operative and a DEA official in the plotto torture and murder Camarena'. (Dec. 4). It was in 1975 that he first joined the DEA and in 1981, he was assigned the Guadalajara office. The government gave him and the two other former Mexican police officers immunity in exchange for information. According to the three men, the CIA was collaborating with drug traffickers moving cocaine and marijuana to the United States, and using its share of the profits to financeNicaraguanContrarebels attempting to overthrow NicaraguasSandinistagovernment. In 1981, the same year Reagan started his first term as president, the DEA sent their special agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena to Guadalajara, Mexico. [, Mexican police had destroyed evidence on Camarenas body. He worked on the case for four years, until 1985. The death of an American federal agent on the . But who was Kiki Camarena and how did he enter the Guadalajara drug scene? Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Camarenas son, Enrique Jr., a county judge in San Diego, declined to comment through a spokesman because judicial ethics rules dont allow him to comment on open cases or investigations.. Three ribs on the left side were broken. Kiki joined the Drug Enforcement Administration in June of . However,Verdugo and Matta-Ballesteros will not be re-tried, and the CIA declined to comment to USA Today. A special unit was dispatched to coordinate the investigation in Mexico, where government officials were implicatedincluding Manuel Ibarra Herrera, past director of Mexican Federal Judicial Police, andMiguel Aldana Ibarra, the former director of Interpol in Mexico. Kiki was surrounded by five armed men who threw him into a car and sped away. Meanwhile, alleged henchmen Rene Verdugo and Juan Matta-Ballesteros were also jailed for their involvement, before a judge disputed forensic evidence and threw out their convictions in 2017. Malone had credibility problems as a witness. Why kidnap and torture him also? Enrique S. Camarena Jr. was 11 when members of a narco-trafficking cartel tortured and murdered his father, nicknamed "Kiki," in Mexico in February, 1985 -- a tragic milestone in a drug war . 1. } window.adsContainer = {"position2":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Above_Next_Rel","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position3":{"code":"Article_Mobile_300x250_ATF_Rel","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position4":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle_Rel","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position5":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle1_Rel","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position6":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle2_Rel","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position7":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle3_Rel","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position8":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle4_Rel","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position9":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle5_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250},"position10":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle6_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250},"position11":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle7_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250},"position12":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle8_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250},"position13":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle9_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250},"position14":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle10_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250},"position15":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle11_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250},"position16":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle12_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250}}