Brother of Guadalajara Cartel Founder Rafael Caro Quintero Arrested in Mexico City

By Mary Webber First Posted: Feb 08, 2023 07:14 AM EST

Mexican authorities arrested Carlos Caro Quintero, the brother of notorious Guadalajara Cartel founder Rafael Caro Quintero, in Mexico City on Monday afternoon on charges of illegal firearm and drug possession.

According to Univision, Mexico City police chief Omar Garcia Harfuch said Rafael Caro Quintero's brother was arrested after police stopped his vehicle due to a hidden license plate.

"This afternoon, colleagues from Mexico City Police arrested Carlos' N,' a member of a criminal group that operates in the north of the country, in Alcadia," Garcia Harfuch tweeted.

Carlos Caro Quintero: Rafael Caro Quintero's Brother Arrested in Mexico City

Carlos Caro Quintero's gray Mercedes-Benz sedan car was reportedly traveling along Montes Auvernia Avenue in the Lomas de Chapultepec neighborhood in Mexico City when police officers noticed that the vehicle's license plate was covered.

A police patrol car then signaled for the vehicle to stop, and the driver complied, pulling over to the side of the road, Borderland Beat reported. When cops spoke to the driver, they noticed that he had a firearm on him.

However, he could not show a firearm permit, which civilians must obtain to carry a gun legally. Police officers then inspected his vehicle and found eight kilos of marijuana, "124 doses" of cocaine, a short firearm, four magazines, and 33 cartridges.

Carlos Caro Quintero was originally from Badiraguato, Sinaloa. He was identified as a member of the Sinaloa Cartel. Police reported that Rafael Caro Quintero's brother had a criminal record in the state of Jalisco for carrying a firearm in 2019 and causing a public scandal in Durango in 2022.

Infobae reported that Carlos is one of 11 siblings of the Guadalajara Cartel founder. Omar Garcia Harfuch said Mexico City police were on "alert" to "any situation" that could arise in response to his arrest.

Arrest of Guadalajara Cartel Founder Rafael Caro Quintero

The arrest of Rafael Caro Quintero's brother comes almost seven months after the Guadalajara Cartel founder was nabbed in northern Mexico. The Mexican army had reportedly monitored the activities and movements of Rafael for five years before he was captured last July.

Rafael is one of the founders of the now-defunct Guadalajara Cartel, along with Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo and Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo. Dubbed the "Narco of Narcos," he was considered a pioneer in Mexico's drug underworld during the 1980s.

The Guadalajara Cartel founder had already spent 28 years in prison for the brutal murder and torture of former U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena Salazar.

Rafael was allegedly angry about a raid at Rancho Buffalo, a huge marijuana plantation in Mexico's Chihuahua state. Mexican authorities seized the plantation allegedly at Camarena's demand.

Camarena was kidnapped in Guadalajara in February 1985. A month later, his lifeless body was discovered, with signs showing that he was tortured. Rafael, who was arrested in Costa Rica in the same year, has denied involvement in the killing of Camarena.

In 2013, the Guadalajara Cartel founder was released by a Mexican judge on a technicality. An appeals court overturned the verdict, and the Supreme Court upheld the sentence.

However, it was too late, as Rafael already went underground. Mexican authorities then issued a new warrant for his arrest, and the DEA also put him on their most wanted fugitives list.

Authorities in Mexico said he should continue serving the remainder of his original 40-year sentence. The U.S. government hailed his recent arrest and said it would waste no time requesting his extradition.

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Written by: Mary Webber

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