The co-founder of the Guadalajara Cartel could face one of the most controversial and closely watched trials in the United States in the coming months: what is known about his offspring?
A little more than a month after being handed over to the country of the stars and stripes, the legal process that the United States is holding against Rafael Caro Quintero, co-founder of the Guadalajara Cartel, is advancing rapidly.
Unlike other cases taking place in the Federal Court of the Eastern District of New York, such as that of Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada, founder of the Sinaloa Cartel arrested in July 2024, the trial of the ‘Narco of Narcos’ seems to be becoming more and more of a reality.
The fact has put the spotlight on the 72-year-old drug lord, especially for the accusation of kidnapping, torture and murder of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent Enrique ‘Kiki’ Camarena.
But what is known about his personal life? Here in MILENIO we explain.
In Badiraguato, the first steps of Caro Quintero
Rafael Caro Quintero was born on October 24, 1952 in Badiraguato, Sinaloa. Son of the marriage of Emilio Caro Payán and Hermelinda Quintero, he lived his first years of life in a humble, peasant environment.
Like most of Mexico’s first-generation drug traffickers, Caro Quintero began drug production at a very early age, presumably under the teachings of Pedro Aviles Perez, ‘El Leon de la Sierra’.
Shortly thereafter, in the early 1970s, he allied with Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo, ‘El Jefe de Jefes’, and Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo, ‘Don Neto’, with whom he founded the Guadalajara Cartel.
Four Known Children: Caro Quintero’s Offspring
The first known marriage of the “Narco of Narcos” was with María Elizabeth Elenes Lerma, with whom he had four children: three sons and a daughter.
However, the then drug trafficker spent little time with his family. He was arrested on September 18, 1985, when his descendants were only 10, seven, five and two years old.
In order, they are:
Héctor Rafael Caro Elenes, born on December 18, 1975.
Roxana Elizabeth Caro Elenes, born in 1978.
Henoch Emilio Caro Elenes, born March 15, 1980.
Mario Yibrán Caro Elenes, born June 11, 1983.
Each and every one of them has a university degree. Héctor graduated in Business Administration, Roxana in Marketing and Henoch in Medicine. Mario Yibran is unknown.
Although the four have tried to maintain a discreet life and away from the public eye, in 2013 they were included along with their mother on the blacklist of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Treasury Department, for alleged money laundering.
Their names were removed from the list of designations until 2021.
Héctor Rafael Caro Elenes, the family athlete
The eldest of Rafael Caro Quintero’s sons, Héctor Rafael Caro Elenes, came into the spotlight in 2006 after competing in the Central American and Caribbean Games in Cartagena, Colombia, and winning a gold medal in the equestrian team show jumping event.
Four years later, he won the Jalisco Equestrian School Classic, an annual tournament celebrating Colonel Vicente Mendoza, founder of the club.
Héctor Rafael Caro Elenes (left), first-born son of drug trafficker Rafael Caro Quintero
– Lourdes Diaz Arteaga (@luludiazarteaga) August 14, 2013
What’s next in the Caro Quintero trial?
MILENIO reported on April 9 that the U.S. Attorney’s Office recently notified Caro Quintero’s legal defense of the delivery of part of the evidence they have against their client, which, as revealed by journalist Ángel Hernández, consists mostly of communications intercepts.
On April 18, 2025, he will appear in court in Brooklyn, New York, for a conflict of interest hearing, and a second hearing will be held on June 25, when it will be known whether or not the prosecution will seek the death penalty.
Source: Milenio
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