Enrique ‘Kiki’ Camarena, 37, was working for the US government in Mexico when he was abducted, tortured and killed by cartel members in February 1985.
A CIA operative conspired with a drug kingpin to plan the brutal murder of a DEA Agent, according to multiple witnesses who have been re-interviewed about the 1985 case.
Enrique ‘Kiki’ Camarena, 37, was working for the US government in Guadalajara, Mexico when he was abducted, tortured and killed by cartel members in February 1985.
Camarena’s death was thought to have been ordered by Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, a drug lord known as The Godfather, who controlled trafficking along the US-Mexico border.
However, bombshell new testimony from three men who worked as security guards for the cartel kingpin tells a more sinister story.
According to a report published Thursday in USA Today, ‘US Justice Department agents and prosecutors have obtained statements from the witnesses implicating a Central Intelligence Agency operative and a DEA official in the plot to torture and murder Camarena’.
Camarena’s widow and the mother of his three sons, Mika, told the publication: ‘I want the truth to be out. At this point, nothing would surprise me.’
Camarena is pictured with wife Mika and two of their sons shortly before his death
Camarena’s disappearance made worldwide headlines in February 1985, and sparked fury from the Regan Administration
Camarena’s disappearance made worldwide headlines in February 1985, and sparked fury from the Regan Administration, who effectively shut down the southern border in a bid to pressure the Mexican government to catch the culprits.
The DEA Agent’s remains were discovered a month later, and investigators later learned that he was brutally tortured for more than 30 hours. Camarena’s captors beat and burned him, before using a power tool to drill into his skull. He was likely injected with drugs to ensure he remained conscious throughout the ordeal.
The manhunt for Camarena’s killers was ‘the largest in DEA history’ and, eventually, several Mexican drug lords and their henchmen were indicted.
Gallardo, known as ‘The Godfather’, remains behind bars for his role in the murder.
Two associates, Ernesto ‘Don Neto’ Fonseca and Rafael Caro Quintero, were also convicted.
But in 2013, Quintero was released from jail on a technicality, and is now on is now on the FBI’s most-wanted list, with authorities offering a $20 million reward for his capture.
Meanwhile, alleged henchmen Rene Verdugo and Juan Matta-Ballesteros were also jailed for their involvement, before a judge disputed forensic evidence and threw out their convictions in 2017.
Mika Camarena is pictured meeting Ronald Reagan at the White House shortly after her husband’s death
While prosecutors were deciding whether or not to re-try the two men, they interviewed the three witnesses, where the allegations about the CIA involvement was revealed.
The three men’s testimonies have been described as ‘incredible’ by a lawyer working for the recently released Verdugo.
He stated that all three of the men are said to ‘have witnessed CIA operatives working alongside cartel members.’.
The lawyer asked a federal judge to order the government to turn over ‘all discovery concerning alleged CIA involvement in the kidnapping and murder of Agent Camarena’.
However, Verdugo and Matta-Ballesteros will not be re-tried, and the CIA declined to comment to USA Today.
The names of any particular CIA or DEA Agents who allegedly conspired in Camarena’s death have not been disclosed.
Meanwhile, Camarena’s case recently received renewed interest after it became the center of the new Netflix series Narcos: Mexico, with Michael Pena playing the lead role.
Camarena’s case recently received renewed interest after it became the center of the new Netflix series Narcos: Mexico