WASHINGTON _ The Trump administration is trying to ratchet up pressure to capture a Mexican drug lord who allegedly ordered the murder of an American narcotics agent more than three decades ago.
Rafael Caro Quintero was convicted and jailed in the 1985 killing of Special Agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena of the Drug Enforcement Administration. But the convicted murderer has been free since 2013, when a Mexican judge released him from prison on a technicality.
The U.S. government reacted furiously to the release of one of Mexico's most notorious cartel leaders, and pressured Mexican officials to find him so he can be extradited to the United States.
The FBI announced Thursday that Caro Quintero is now on the bureau's Most Wanted list.
Camarena was based in the city of Guadalajara when Caro Quintero allegedly ordered him killed. The DEA agent's body showed signs of torture when it was found on a ranch in western Mexico, along with the corpse of a Mexican pilot who helped him search for marijuana fields.
Even though it occurred 33 years ago, Camarena's death still is a raw issue at the DEA, and the case remains a source of friction between the U.S. and Mexico.
Both Mexican and American officials suspected that corruption played a role in Caro Quintero's release from prison. A Mexican judge released him after he served 28 years of a 40-year sentence, saying that he should have been tried in a state court and not a federal one.
