Caro Quintero is Negotiating a Plea Deal to Avoid a Trial in the U.S.

U.S. prosecutors and Rafael Caro Quintero’s lawyers are continuing negotiations to reach a possible plea deal. Arturo Ángel has more details on this. Go ahead. Hello, everyone. Good morning over in Mexico—good afternoon here in New York. 

Yes, the hearing to review the proceedings has just concluded—the third such hearing in the case against Rafael Caro Quintero, the notorious Mexican drug trafficker. The U.S. holds him responsible not only for co-founding a major Mexican cartel back in the day but also for the murder of DEA agent Enrique Camarena 40 years ago. 

The hearing was quite brief—lasting no more than 15 minutes—but it yielded important information: for the first time in these proceedings, U.S. prosecutors, led by lead prosecutor Francisco Navarro, informed Federal Judge Frederic Block that they are in talks with Caro Quintero’s lawyers to explore an alternative resolution to the case—specifically, avoiding a trial by having Caro Quintero plead guilty. 

This isn’t the first time such a possibility has been mentioned; however, prosecutors made it clear that they haven’t made a formal offer yet and no deal is currently in place—though negotiations are indeed underway. 

Naturally, the Department of Justice must handle this matter delicately because, as I mentioned, Caro Quintero is considered a key figure—a major criminal—by the United States. I would even say his profile here in the U.S. is far more significant than the one he had in Mexico at the time, primarily due to the murder of agent Enrique Camarena—a point prosecutors have consistently emphasized. 

In this regard, Francisco Navarro indicated that these talks with the defense are likely to continue over the summer—in the next two or three months—though no agreement has been reached so far.

Honestly, it seems unlikely—unlike what has happened with other Mexican kingpins—that U.S. prosecutors would be willing to grant many concessions, especially given the allegations against Caro Quintero regarding the murder of one of their agents. However, if Rafael Caro Quintero were to choose to plead guilty—much like Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada did, essentially without any guaranteed benefits—prosecutors might well agree to that. 

We shall see, though, because there is significant pressure; there is a faction within the Department of Justice—and especially the DEA—that wants to see Caro Quintero go to trial. They want the evidence, including the audio recordings and everything related to the torture and murder of Enrique Camarena, to be presented in open court. 

So, we will have to see how the process unfolds. Incidentally, prosecutors have requested that, should the case go to trial, the identities of the jurors—the citizens selected—remain anonymous. In other words, neither the defense nor the prosecutors themselves would know their names or occupations; they would simply be assigned a number. 

While they would be visible during the proceedings, no further personal information would be disclosed, and they would be protected daily while being transported to the courthouse. These are security measures that are uncommon in standard trials but are employed when high-profile criminals are being prosecuted. 

We saw this with “El Chapo” Guzmán and Genaro García Luna, for instance, where the jurors received special protection. So, this is a measure the prosecutors have put on the table. The judge deemed this a matter requiring analysis; however, for the time being, he has instructed both the defense attorneys and the prosecutors to hold a new hearing on October 1st—roughly four months from now—to determine whether an agreement has been reached between the parties. 

Alternatively, the judge has called for proceedings to be expedited so that Rafael Caro Quintero might actually go to trial by around March 2027. So, we shall see what happens. The proceedings—which were quite brief—were nonetheless very interesting. Incidentally, we did see Caro Quintero. 

It struck me that, on this occasion, he was not wearing handcuffs, chains, or restraints of any kind—though he was in his prison uniform—and the marshals actually seemed to be handling him quite loosely.

He actually appeared to be in good spirits, smiling at one of his lawyers; he is a man of advanced age with a full head of completely gray hair, yet he was not wearing handcuffs of any kind. 

This image certainly contrasts with the one we described a few weeks ago—regarding General Gerardo Mérida, for instance—the former Secretary of Public Security for Sinaloa who recently turned himself in and was brought in with heavy chains on his hands and feet. 

But anyway, those are the latest developments from here in Brooklyn, New York, regarding Mr. Caro Quintero—a figure who has always drawn attention and whom we will continue to watch very closely. Arturo, we thank you, as always, for staying on top of this and keeping us informed via Milenio. Thank you.

Source: Milenio