Caro Quintero Breaks Silence: Mexican Drug Lord Behind Kiki Camarena's Murder Speaks Out from U.S. Prison

Rafael Caro Quintero, the founder of the infamous Mexican Guadalajara Cartel, broke his silence since being extradited to the United States, lodging serious complaints about his treatment while detained in a federal prison in Brooklyn, claiming he is being subjected to conditions typically reserved for "terrorists."

In a recently revealed statement, Caro Quintero, portrayed by Mexican actor Tenoch Huerta Mejía in the Netflix series 'Narcos: Mexico,' laments the extreme isolation and the lack of effective communication with his legal counsel and loved ones. His legal team has challenged these restrictions, arguing that they are based on "myths" rather than any legitimate security concerns.

Caro Quintero's heavily redacted letter, conveyed via his attorney Mark S. DeMarco and spotlighted by journalist Arturo Ángel, directly appeals to U.S. District Judge Frederic Block, requesting that Judge Block issue an order "immediately lifting" the Special Administrative Measures (SAMs) imposed on Quintero.

SAMs are an extreme process in U.S. law placed on prisoners who pose a "substantial risk that...communications or contacts with persons could result in death or serious bodily injury to persons, or substantial damage to property that would entail the risk of death or serious bodily injury to persons." SAMs are particularly controversial as they allow communications between an attorney and their client to be monitored by authorities.

The statement reads: "Mr. Quintero is essentially confined to a small, windowless cell. He remains in this cell alone for 23 hours a day, Mondays through Fridays; on the weekends, he is confined 24 hours a day and not permitted any exercise. His meals are passed through a slot in the door; he eats alone. The light is always on. With erratic air-conditioning, he often lacks enough warm clothing or blankets to avoid shivering."

The letter also details that "except for visits from his legal team, Mr. Quintero is completely isolated. He is prohibited from sharing a cell or communicating in any way with other inmates... Mr. Quintero is a native Spanish speaker; he does not speak English. At certain periods... his housing unit appears to be staffed exclusively with guards unable to communicate in Spanish."

At the end of the statement, Quintero's lawyers request that he be released from solitary confinement and placed in a less "restrictive unit." On August 5, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice announced it would not seek the death penalty for three notorious Mexican cartel leaders currently facing trial in the U.S.: Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, Rafael Caro Quintero, and Vicente "El Viceroy" Carrillo Fuentes.

Caro Quintero is facing multiple federal charges, including narcotics trafficking, money laundering, conspiracy, and most infamously, the 1985 murder of DEA Agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena in Mexico.