At the peak of his powers, Rafael Caro Quintero, also known as "El Narco de Narcos," controlled the flow of tons of cocaine from Mexico to the United States under the Guadalajara cartel, the country's most powerful criminal organization during the 1980s.
More than four decades later, Caro Quintero and his defense team are negotiating with the U.S. government over a possible alternative resolution to the case against him on drug trafficking charges and in connection with the killing of Enrique Camarena, a former Drug Enforcement Administration agent.
According to reports by Milenio, lead prosecutor Francisco Navarro announced the request submitted by Caro Quintero's attorneys during the third status hearing before U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of New York Frederic Block, who is overseeing the case.
"We are in the middle of discussions regarding a possible plea agreement (for Quintero), but there are no results yet. We have not made any offer, nor is there a deal in place. We expect these discussions to continue throughout the summer," Navarro said, according to Milenio.
Caro Quintero's third hearing took place June 16 and lasted less than 10 minutes. Mark de Marco and Elizabeth Macedonio, who lead the defense of "El Narco de Narcos," confirmed that discussions are underway and requested that certain evidence in the case be classified as sensitive material.
They also asked that the identities of prospective jurors remain anonymous and that transportation to and from the courthouse be secured. Caro Quintero's next hearing is scheduled for Oct. 1. Tentatively, March 2027 has been set as the start date for the trial if no alternative resolution is reached, Milenio reported.
The murder of Enrique "Kiki" Camarena
The murder of DEA agent Camarena returned to the public spotlight in February of last year when Mexico extradited 29 high-profile prisoners to the United States, including Caro Quintero.
Camarena, a Mexican-born U.S. citizen, managed to infiltrate the Guadalajara cartel, one of the country's first transnational criminal organizations. After providing U.S. and Mexican authorities with information about the location of key cartel drug fields, including a 2,500-acre plantation in Chihuahua, Camarena was kidnapped in Guadalajara in 1985. He was tortured for more than 30 hours before being killed. His body was later found in a rural area of Michoacán.
Caro Quintero was arrested in Costa Rica in 1985 and served nearly three decades in Mexican prisons before his controversial early release in 2013.
After returning to drug trafficking, he became a top target of both U.S. and Mexican authorities. He was captured again in Sinaloa in July 2022 and eventually extradited to the United States in February 2025.
