Rafael Caro Quintero, Mexican drug lord nicknamed 'boss of the bosses' who was convicted in the 1985 kidnapping and murder of a DEA agent, was captured in Sinaloa, Mexico, on Friday.
Caro Quintero's arrest came a few days after the meeting between Mexico's president Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Joe Biden at the White House. This has resulted in speculations on social media as some followers believe that Biden must have demanded Caro Quintero's arrest so as to curtail the drug smuggling between Mexico and US. A faction of followers has also stated that this could be a part of some "deal" or a "pact" between both the Presidents.
Is Rafael Caro Quintero's Arrest a Message for Other Drug Traffickers?
He was the FBI's one of the most wanted fugitives having a $20 million reward on his head.
A search dog named Max sniffed and found Caro Quintero who was hiding in brush in the town of San Simon in Sinaloa state. The search operation was jointly carried out by the navy and the attorney general's office.
Some of the social media followers have identified Caro Quintero with the drug lord from Netflix series, Narcos; Mexico adding that this was destined for him. It is being said that Quintero's arrest is a strong message by the governments of Mexico and US to the drug traffickers.
A report published by BBC News stated that Quintero was one of three founding members of the powerful Guadalajara Cartel. He spent 28 years in jail for the murder of former US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent Enrique Camarena. In 2013, a court in Mexico cut short Quintero's 40-year sentence and freed him, ruling that he should have been tried in a state rather than a federal court. The ruling was later overturned by the country's supreme court but Quintero had already gone into hiding, the report stated further.
A Twitter user shared his elation adding, "Justice has no expiration date. Thank you to our Mexican partners for capturing Rafael Caro Quintero, who for years terrorized Mexican citizens and is implicated in the kidnapping, torture, and murder of DEA agent Kiki Camarena. #SeguridadCompartida."
"An elite unit of Mexico's navy captured drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, who had been released by a Mexican judge in 2013 after serving 28 years in prison for the killing of a DEA agent Keep Him Locked Up ! Don't Let Him Escape ! Evil Man !", wrote another Twitter user.
A tweet read, "Infamous drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, who was behind the 1985 killing of a U.S. DEA agent, has been captured by Mexican forces nearly a decade after walking out of a Mexican prison and returning to drug trafficking. Best news I've had to begin a weekend in a long time!"
"We are grateful to Mexican authorities & 14 Mexican police who died bringing Rafael Caro-Quintero to justice for his alleged torture & execution of DEA Special Agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena We will seek his immediate extradition to the US", read another tweet.
