Editing Rafael Caro Quintero

|skills = Farming knowledge<br>Business

|hobby = Growing marijuana<br>Partying<br>Staging [[kidnapping]]s

|goals = Control entire marijuana trade in Mexico (succeeded)<br>Escape punishment for crimes (failed)

|crimes = Drug dealing<br>[[Murder]]<br>Corruption<br>[[Torture]]<br>[[Rape]]<br>[[Misogyny]]<br>[[Kidnapping]]<br>[[Terrorism]]<br>

|type of villain = Drug Kingpin

|Image = Rafael Caro Quintero - FBI Most Wanted Poster (cropped4).png

}}

'''Rafael Caro Quintero''' (October 24, 1952) is a Mexican criminal and former drug kingpin of the [[Guadalajara Cartel]]. One of its cofounders, he is considered the "Narco of Narcos" as his efforts in collaboration with corrupt police officer [[Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo]] would eventually led to the rise of [[Mexican drug cartels|Mexico's current drug cartels]].

Caro Quintero was born on October 24, 1952 to a farming family. As a young man, he began growing marijuana with a drug lord named Pedro Aviles Perez. Later, he bought his own farms and ran an operation together with drug lord [[Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo]] and corrupt police officer [[Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo]].  

In 1984, DEA agent Kiki Camarena infiltrated a group of workers heading to Caro's marijuana fields. Although he did not know the exact location, he was able to provide an area that could be searched by aircraft. After it was determined that Camarena was responsible, Caro had him kidnapped, [[torture]]d and [[murder]]ed. These actions would ultimately lead to his arrest as well as that of Fonseca, but Felix would escape. As a result, the DEA opened up a new investigation into the Guadalajara Cartel, Operation Leyenda, to apprehend Felix, which eventually succeeded. Despite his arrest, Caro would continue to operate through family connections.

 

In 2013, Caro was ordered to be released by a Jalisco state court, on the ground that he had been tried and convicted in federal court of state crimes. In response, the United States Department of Justice decided to pursue new criminal charges against him in order to obtain an extradition warrant. He was believed to still be involved in the [[Illegal Drug Trade|illegal drug trade]] until his arrest in July 2022 (see below). With a bounty of 20 million USD, he was one of the most-wanted criminals by the United States.

 

 

MEXICO CITY (appro).– The Mexican government reported that Rafael Caro Quintero, former leader of the Guadalajara Cartel, was arrested in San Simón de Choix, Sinaloa, in a joint operation with elements of the Attorney General's Office (FGR ) and the Secretary of the Navy (Semar).

He appears in the Netflix series ''Narcos ''and ''Narcos: Mexico'' portrayed by Tenoch Huerta Mejía.

[[Category:Drug Dealers]]

[[Category:Mexico]]