Indirectly, they (the CIA) have got to take some of the blame. He alleged the CIA protected the DFS for decades, and stated, The DFS just got out of hand., Kiki Camarena Death: The Real Story of the DEA Agents Murder, Please review our privacy policy here: https://heavy.com/privacy-policy/, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. A 35 aos del asesinato de Enrique "Kiki" Camarena, el diario estadounidenses USA Today asegur en un artculo escrito por Brad Heath, que las autoridades norteamericanas estn . I never met that man. Flix Gallardo: I've never thought about escaping. FollowNBC LatinoonFacebook,TwitterandInstagram. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. However, she grew up in Calexico. In arrivo prossimamente su #PrimeVideo #AmazonOriginal, A post shared by Prime Video Italia (@primevideoit) on May 13, 2020 at 8:30am PDT. Camarena was abducted by corrupt officers on behalf of the cartel in Guadalajara, Mexico, in February 1985. The non-profit enlists the help of retired DEA agents and Mika's oldest son, Enrique. Many things have been said about Flix Gallardo that he was a businessman with a lot of money in Guadalajara and that politicians, governors and public officials attended his parties. It shows that she is in a relationship with Ricardo, who, according to one of her comments, works at a Ford Agency. "It's been 32 years," he said. Flix Gallardo: I have to tell you, ma'am, I've had a 5-inch TV set in prison; I'm not aware of any violence. And I'm going to be serving my county, serving this community in a different way.". And revealing as well! He was about to expose the operation when he was kidnapped on February 7 while he went to have lunch with his wife, Mika. That he is fighting social inequality. Listen to article. That was more than 36 years ago. In Sonora, one of the state's hit hardest by Caro Quintero's efforts to reclaim his territory, there was a hope his arrest could help. The foundation is a non-profit that is aimed to help youth who suffer from any kind of drug abuse. And that is what he didin life and through his death. However, Enrique is realistic and recognized how his duties would be different in the new role. Flix Gallardo: I dedicated myself to agriculture and livestock since I was a child. The first National Red Ribbon Week was created by the National Family Partnership in 1988, and NFP continues to coordinate the campaign for families, schools and communities across the nation each year. Camarena was survived by his widow, Geneva (also known as Mika), and their three children. Anyone can figure out that that sort of thing is just going to get the U.S. government even more determined to come after you. A navy Blackhawk helicopter carrying 15 people crashed near the coastal city of Los Mochis during the operation, killing 14 of those aboard, the navy statement said. Kiki found out about the connection between the CIA and contra fighters same way how Gary Webb publicized it, and somehow was found with 2 gunshots to his head as a . Soon after, they got hitched and had three sons Enrique Jr., Daniel, and Erik. He worked locally. Mika Camarena serves as the President of the foundation, whereas her son, Enrique Kiki Camarena Jr., serves as the Vice President of Civic and Business Affairs. The DEA Museum presents: "Remembering Kiki: Through the Eyes of his Family, Friends, & Colleagues". Similarly, some songs would remind her of her late sons Kiki Camarena and firstborn Eduardo "Lalo" Camarena, who enlisted in the U.S. Army and was . I have half my body paralyzed,said Flix Gallardo, 75, the co-founder of the Guadalajara cartel, one of the first drug trafficking organizations in Mexico. The brutal murder marked a low point in U.S.-Mexico relations. In a statement after Quintero's arrest on Friday, U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland marked the end to the manhunt and paid tribute to Camarena. Daniel Link, 38, a deputy district attorney since 2001, is the son of Judge Frederic Link -- whos now in his 34th year on the San Diego bench. Each year we issue six scholarships to high school seniors throughout the nation. He would spend four years pursuing the cartel and sharing intel with the DEA much of which was dramatized on the Netflix show, Narcos but his life came to an untimely end when he was kidnapped, tortured, and murdered. Camarena received many awards and is considered an American hero. Eventually the cartel's kingpin, Rafael Caro Quintero, and more than two dozen others were convicted in U.S. and Mexican courts -- Caro Quintero's release last year sparking outrage and a new arrest warrant. Until his capture last week, the 69-year-old Caro Quintero was the Drug Enforcement Administration's most wanted man, accused of killing DEA agent Kiki Camarena in 1985 and then resuming a drug . My parents were the first to export legumes to the United States in 1942. Flix Gallardo was 28 when he was first sentenced by a judge in Jalisco. View these interviews at Throughout the 1980s, the cartel controlled much of the drug trafficking in Mexico and the corridors along the Mexico-United . Flix Gallardo was first arrested in April 1989 and has spent 32 years in prison in Mexico for the 1985 murder of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena Salazar. Im talking about who you are as a person. In addition, it takes the added responsibility of commemorating those who have been a victim of fighting illegal drug trades. First Lady Nancy Reagan later turned Red Ribbon . His left arm was in a cast because he fell a few weeks ago. 4. Do you identify with the character that appears in the series? When Kiki was abducted in Mexico, he was tortured and brutally murdered by drug traffickers. Getty Don Neto is a key character in Narcos: Mexico. After her husband's death, she worked to honor his legacy, starting Red Ribbon Week in his name, and now serves as the president of the Enrique S. Camarena Foundation. He saw the possibility and the signs of an empire being builtthis narcotics empireand he wanted to put an end to it because he saw what it could possibly become.. Enrique is around 46, while Erik is 41 years old, and Daniel, the youngest, is 39. On August 30, 2021, Dora Camarena Soto, the mother of famous DEA agent Kiki Camerena, passed away at the age of 97. Snow, Rain and Wind in the Forecast Yet Again. In 1985, Camarena was kidnapped, brutally tortured, and then executed. It took five years and four months to face him. He went on to serve as the deputy district attorney in the Office of the District Attorney of San Diego from 1999 to 2014. Quite the opposite, I hope he succeeds. Brown was sworn in. He spent 28 years in prison . In 1985, Camarena was kidnapped in Guadalajara, allegedly on orders from Caro Quintero. We are deeply grateful to Mexican authorities for their capture and arrest . She said: those in the DEA headquarters learned quite a bit from this. He was on his way to meet his wife, Geneva "Mika" Camarena who was his high school sweetheart for lunch. The available information indicated it suffered an accident, the cause of which had not yet been determined, the statement said. Tuesday, October 26, 2021. A family photo featuring their three sons -- Enrique, Daniel, and Eric. According to The San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper. Hes been in custody since 1989, however. He decided not to become a police officer because his dad thought it was too dangerous, according to NBC San Diego, which quoted him as saying, I grab a little bit from one supervisor, I grab a little bit from another, and added on to me to become who I am today., Judge Enrique Camarena Jr. is speaking to @MSASanDiego 6th Graders. As he lay dying, a cartel doctor was ordered to keep him alert by administering drugs.. He has lost vision in one of his eyes and is deaf in his left ear. Those last two conditions made the interview a bit difficult, so we had to write the questions on a poster board for him to read. The non-profit's aim is to fight against youth drug use and abuse. In season 2, an enraged DEA jacks up its efforts to dismantle the cartel and get cartel figures to prosecution, even going so far as abducting a doctor accused of being affiliated with the cartel and assisting in Camarenas death. I believe in Sonora, in general, there could be calm, and yes, relief for us, because I believe the disappearances will diminish, said Cecilia Duarte, an activist with a team of volunteer searchers in Sonora who look for the clandestine graves of the disappeared. He was raised in California, graduating from Calexico High School in Calexico, California in 1966. Kiki Camarena's son, Enrique Camarena is now a judge in California after serving as a deputy district attorney for years. Mika was, thus, abruptly left a widow, shouldering the responsibilities of her three children. Copyright 2023 Distractify. His tortured body was found a month later. By 1985, which is when Narcos: Mexico roughly starts, he was extremely close to unlocking a multi-billion dollar drug pipeline, the DEA says. Michael Pea plays DEA Agent Enrique Kiki Camarena in Season 1 of Narcos: Mexico. The money goes toward scholarships. For more than 30 hours, Caro-Quintero and others interrogated Camarena and . . But after Berrellez figured out what was really going on, he was taken off the case. I asked what was their motive and all I got was more torture. Each year, on October 23-31, more than 80 million . In Narcos: Mexico, Mika Camarena is depicted as a loyal and loving wife to DEA agent Kiki Camarena. Drug trafficking has raised the levels of violence and conflict in Mexico. Infamous drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, who was behind the killing of a U.S. DEA agent in 1985, was captured Friday by Mexican forces nearly a decade after walking out of a Mexican prison and returning to drug trafficking, according to the Mexico's navy. Camarena was survived by his widow, Geneva (also known as Mika), and their three children. In May of 1985, she met with President Ronald Reagan. I'm not hoping. It has been some time since the valiant agent passed away, and his body was discovered in 1985. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. So, where are they now? 31, 2020 3:11AM ET. In real life, Camarenas wife was indeed named Mika, and she is the mother of his three children. Image source. Mika Camarena was born in Fresno in the year 1948. Uno de ellos, Enrique 'Kiki' Camarena lleg a Guadalajara, Mxico, en 1980, cuando el Crtel de Guadalajara comenzaba a prosperar transportando la cocana que llegaba de Colombia. For Kikis son, Thursday was a brighter milestone he said his dad would have treasured. It was his end, and his new cartels end, and it was El Chapos beginning (the eventual drug lord is first seen in the beginning of Narcos: Mexico in all his humble beginnings as a driver for a Sinaloan drug lord). I had come to know several of the DEA agents in Laredo. In 1981, the entire Camarena family left Fresno, California for Guadalajara, Mexico where Camarena was assigned. They still seem to be together as she has not changed her status. I'm a corpse who's only looking forward to being buried next to a tree. There was my daughter, my son. Everyone knows that when you kill a cop or a judge, the entire wrath of the state is going to come crashing down on you. I lost everything: I lost sensitivity, my hearing, my eyesight," said the man known as "The Boss of Bosses," while complaining of the health ailments that have plagued him in recent years. Kiki's wife, Geneva "Mika" Camarena, mourned the loss of her husband. His tortured body was found a month later. According to The San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper, after his death, she formed the Enrique S. Camarena Foundation in 2004 with the help of retired DEA agents and her oldest son, Enrique, a deputy district attorney working in the South Bay. My life expectancy is very low, as you can see. Mika moved back to California from Mexico with her sons following Camarenas death. They don't let us have visitors, no phone booths, no lawyers. . After the death of Kiki Camarena, his wife Mika Camarena became involved in a number of social and charitable initiatives in order to preserve and promote the sacrifices made by him. Registered as a Republican, Camarenas job and family history has naturally solidified his anti-drugs stance. Why were you linked to this murder? The 85-year-old also asserted that the report is a "rehash . Camarena dedicated his life to helping others before he was brutally tortured and killed in . An official website of the United States government. After retiring, she now dedicates all her time to the organization and works together with schools and the law enforcement department to raise awareness about drugs among youths and their parents. It shows that she is in a relationship with Ricardo, who, according to one of her comments, works at a Ford Agency. After serving in the Marines, he worked as a fireman for the City of Calexico and attended Imperial Valley College, where he earned an associates degree. I also owned some drugstores and two old hotels. Secure .gov websites use HTTPSA lock ( The Netflix series details the background of the case and how this horrendous crime unfolded. #taliban #afghanistan #terrorism Recently, the popular Netflix series"Narcos: Mexico" chronicled his life as the co-founder of the Guadalajara cartel, as the first drug trafficker to create a bridge between South America and the United Statesfor the export of cocaine negotiating with Colombian drug traffickers such as Pablo Escobar. But I knew, she shares. However, Enriques moment to shine truly came in 2014, when he was sworn in as the latest San Diego Superior Court judge. Today, Fonseca is on house arrest, and Caro Quintera was "released . Flix Gallardo: Since I havent made a mistake, I have nothing to repent. After seeing Caro Quintero walk out of a Mexican prison once already, Vigil said he hopes the government won't risk a repeat Guzman twice escaped from Mexican maximum security prisons and would agree to a likely U.S. extradition request. The capture and murder of Enrique "Kiki" Camarena, an undercover US Drugs Enforcement Agency in Mexico in 1985, was a turning point in the war on drugs, writes the BBC's Will Grant. Camarena Educational Foundation in 2004 exactly for the purpose. The former DEA agent Kiki Camarenas death has been a testimony to the violent and political nature of drug cartels that form the backbone of the manufacturing and distribution of illegal drugs. The book alleges that DEA officers investigating Camarenas death knew that the drug agents murder was a joint operation between the drug cartel and the DFS, an agency with intimate ties to the CIA., Kuykendall said, The CIA didnt give a damn about anything but Cuba and the Soiets. As Kiki walked to his truck, he was approached by five men who shoved him into a beige Volkswagen. Was he really abducted? That doctor was a real person although he denies involvement. Rafael Caro Quintero's role in the the 1985 kidnapping and killing of U.S. DEA agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena was a low point in U.S.-Mexico relations. His wife, Geneva Mika Camarena, lost her husband at the age of 36, when the two were in their prime, raising their family of three children. These people and I have never chatted. The impact Kikis death has had on the drug war, and by extension, the entire world is undeniable. One of the men threw a jacket over Kiki's head, and the driver sped away. Known to his friends as "Kiki," Special Agent Camarena had been in Mexico for more than four years on the trail of Mexican marijuana and cocaine drug traffickers. Many people in Calexico had began wearing red ribbons after Kiki was murdered, a gesture that later turned into the Red Ribbon campaign and is now celebrated for a week during October 23-31 each year. Flix Gallardo: It is a very sad subject. His and his pilot's body were later unearthed at a remote ranch, The New York Times reported. Enrique "Kiki" Camarena Salazar (July 26, 1947 - February 9, 1985) was an American intelligence officer for the United States (DEA). In . She later became a clerk in the Calexico Municipal Court, but eventually took the job of a skin-care consultant, which she continued till retiring. And if the cop or the judge happen to be U.S. federal agents or a federal judge, youre going to have the full force of the U.S. government being brought to bear on you. In addition to the foregoing, Mika Camarena is the president of the foundation set up in the name of her husband since its inception in 2004. Caro Quintero had walked free in 2013 after 28 years in prison when a court overturned his 40-year sentence for the 1985 kidnapping and killing of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent . They removed eight hernias. The Amazon Prime series provides the real backstory of what happened to Camarena and why. Are you asking me why I am granting you the interview? After his death, she focused on raising her three kids and worked hard as a skin-care consultant. But on February 7, 1985, at 2:00 pm, he was kidnapped by five men as he left the American Consulate in . Several of the cartel controlled much of the men threw a jacket over Kiki 's wife, Geneva also! Us have visitors, no lawyers view these interviews at throughout the nation survived by his widow Geneva. Loving wife to DEA agent Kiki Camarena, graduating from Calexico high school seniors throughout the.! Exactly for the purpose American hero `` it 's been 32 years, '' he his... 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