MEXICO CITY, (Reuters) – Outraged by the release of an infamous Mexican drug boss jailed for ordering the brutal 1985 murder of a U.S. drug enforcement agent, the United States may soon face the galling prospect of watching his accomplices walk free.
A Mexican court on Friday cut short Rafael Caro Quintero’s 40-year sentence for orchestrating the killing of Drug Enforcement Administration agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, ending his 28-year stay behind bars after ruling he should have been tried at a state level rather than on federal charges.
The decision dealt a painful blow to the DEA, which said it was “deeply troubled” by his early release and would push for him to be tried in a U.S. court.
Caro Quintero’s lawyer also is seeking the release of Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo, who ran the Guadalajara cartel alongside Caro Quintero, and was convicted and imprisoned for planning Camarena’s abduction and murder with fellow Guadalajara drug lord Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo.
Fonseca Carrillo’s lawyer said he had already presented an appeal for his client’s release, and expected him to be freed in about two weeks.
“Rafael shouldn’t have been tried or sentenced at a federal level for that crime,” attorney Jose Luis Guizar said. “This is the same situation, but even more so, because of (Fonseca Carrillo’s) age and illness … the law is the same for everyone.”
