Cartel leader behind ‘Narcos: Mexico’ series arraigned Brooklyn federal court
Both men face a range of serious charges, including drug trafficking, murder conspiracy and weapons violations.
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Rafael Caro Quintero and Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, two of the most powerful figures in Mexico's drug trade, appeared in a U.S. courtroom Friday.
Both men face a range of serious charges, including drug trafficking, murder conspiracy and weapons violations.
The men, along with 27 other cartel members, were recently sent from Mexico to the United States after years of efforts to bring them to trial.
Caro Quintero, 72, is notorious for ordering the 1985 kidnapping and murder of DEA Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, a crime dramatized in the Netflix series "Narcos: Mexico." Carrillo Fuentes, 62, was once the leader of the Juarez Cartel.
More than 100 DEA agents filled the courtroom to honor Camarena, underscoring the significance of this long-awaited moment.
Both men pleaded not guilty and face life in prison, with the possibility of the death penalty. They will remain in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn and are due back in court at the end of March.
