He was on his way to meet his wife, Geneva "Mika" Camarena who was his high school sweetheart for lunch. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. All rights reserved, San Diego and California's COVID-19 Emergency Declarations Expire Tuesday. They don't let us have visitors, no phone booths, no lawyers. 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 . While he shared very little details with her to keep her from worrying, she was well-aware of the dangers of his job. One of the men threw a jacket over Kiki's head, and the driver sped away. On-screen, he's depicted as a man with smart and innovative ideas who was able to unite different criminal organizations in a kind of federation of drug traffickers. Her eldest son Enrique became a deputy district attorney in 2014, working in the South Bay. He eventually became one of the godfathers of Mexican drug trafficking. He was raised in California, graduating from Calexico High School in Calexico, California in 1966. He has lost all hope that he will be released and believes he will die in prison. 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. Its based on the notoriously tragic kidnapping and murder of DEA agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena, those involved, and the family he left behind. Secure .gov websites use HTTPSA lock ( At this point, nothing would surprise me. She also said that the prosecutors and agents working on the case, notified it to her after which there have been no further updates. The previous seasons focused on the rise and fall of Pablo Escobar and the Cali Cartel. Suspect wanted for the killing of DEA Agent "Kiki" Camarena was arrested in Mexicali. What she was able to tell me was that he was a guy that just wanted to do good. She started the Enrique S. Camarena Educational Foundation in 2004 exactly for the purpose. However, she feels that changes in the DEA did help in a significant way after her husband's death, as her children's education was paid for by the amount raised for survivors' benefit. I have been in meetings with the foreign minister and with the security Cabinet, along with all our agencies that have included the new head of the DEA sitting at my right hand, Salazar said. "My health is terrible. He was very concerned about the drug problem in this country, and wanted to make a difference by helping the people that he cared about. Today, the eight-day celebration is an annual catalyst to show intolerance for drugs in our schools, workplaces, and communities. There was my daughter, my son. Enrique 'Kiki' Camarena, 37, was abducted, tortured and killed in 1985 while working with the DEA in Mexico . How do you see the situation of violence in the country? Amazon Prime's 'The Last Narc' details the horrific account of DEA agent Enrique S "Kiki" Camarena Salazar's abduction and murder by the Mexican drug lords at Guadalajara and the ensuing investigation that followed. Kiki and his mother, Dora Salazar-Camarena. In various judicial and academic investigations, Flix Gallardo was closely linked to the beginning of the large drug trafficking organizations in Mexico. A version of this story was first published in Noticias Telemundo. The case is thus, believed to be undergoing another investigation, that may bring more shocking results. It appears that Kikis children have made new lives for themselves, but they continue to remember the heroics of their father, that perhaps changed the course of history itself. The Camarena Foundation also supports Red Ribbon week for drug awareness each year. He also was an adjunct professor at the University of Dallas, where he taught law and economics. 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. It organizes various activities and events as a part of it. Dont give up the war. We also speak in favor of the Red Ribbon campaign and drug awareness. The only ones who will lose will be us. They are old men living humble, ordinary lives in . Camarena was survived by his widow, Geneva (also known as Mika), and their three children. I know that the president is a man of goodwill. 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. Camarena poses with Mexican law enforcement. But he told NBC 7 after the ceremony that now his job is to think more like a judge than a prosecutor. Actor Michael Pena, who played Kiki in Narcos, researched the role of Kiki Camarena for Narcos: Mexico in part by speaking with the agents widow. I am going on 76 years. My family is digging a grave so that I may be buried next to a tree. Moreover, the DEA even went so far as to orchestrate the kidnapping in Mexico of a Mexican doctor who was alleged to have assisted with Camarenas torture. 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. However, he would make a fatal mistake, and season 2 deals with the aftermath of it: The murder of Camarena, and how the DEA responded to it. In 2004, she established the Enrique S. Camarena Educational Foundation with the help of several retired DEA agents, as well as her son Enrique. Flix Gallardo: I lost more than half of my family while I've been in jail: a daughter, my parents, my mother died without her furniture being returned to her, her furniture! 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 . In a candid interview with the San Diego Tribune, Mika was asked if she ever imagined this happening and knew of the dangers involved in Camarenas day-to-day work life. Gallardo was sentenced to 37 years in 2017 for the death of Camarena by a Mexican court (as well as the murder of Alfredo Zavala, a Mexican pilot), according to The Times. An appeals court overturned Caro Quinteros verdict in 2013, but the Supreme Court upheld the sentence. On Thursday, February 7, 1985, at 2:00 pm, Special Agent Enrique Camarena left the American Consulate in Guadalajara to meet his wife, Mika, for lunch. The implosion of Guadalajara led to the rise of the Sinaloa cartel, led by Joaquin El Chapo Guzman, who is now in U.S. custody. Flix Gallardo was 28 when he was first sentenced by a judge in Jalisco. We will be seeking his immediate extradition to the United States so he can be tried for these crimes in the very justice system Special Agent Camarena died defending.. All three series tell the story of Kiki Camarena, a 37-year-old DEA agent assigned to work in Mexico during the 1980s. According to The San Diego Union Tribune, the couple met at Calexico High School in Calexico, California, and became high-school sweethearts. Despite the War on Drugs launching in the 1970s, it didn't hit full steam until the '80s. In 1988, she met with President Reagan (pictured above) and First Lady, Nancy, to raise awareness about drug abuse, per theDEA. His death stunned the nation and forever changed the war. The foundations major goal is to make the country free of illegal drugs. They were high school sweethearts and continued their relationship after he began working as a firefighter and then joined the police in Calexico. This is the first interview that Flix Gallardo has granted during his sentence. Drug dealers don't blindfold and record interrogations to kill someone. There had been tensions between the Mexican government and the DEA after Mexico enacted a law limiting the U.S. agency's operations. He was the kind of guy who just wanted to keep the streets safe. And Im ready for it.. The money goes toward scholarships. I was beaten and pulled out in less than a minute, and I suffered four broken ribs. 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, he said, as his former colleagues in the district attorneys office nodded appreciatively along with his family and friends. And Im going to be serving my county, serving this community in a different way., Kiki Camarena spent three years in Calexico for the DEA before he was assigned to the agencys Fresno office and then to Mexico, where he worked out of its office in Guadalajara. Caro Quintero was arrested after a search dog named Max found him hiding in brush in the town of San Simon in Sinaloa state during a joint operation by the navy and Attorney General's Office, a navy statement said. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. Enrique "Kiki" Camarena, agente de la DEA nacido en Mxico y naturalizado estadounidense, fue secuestrado el 7 de febrero de 1985 por hombres del Crtel de Guadalajara dos semanas antes de . The foundation is a non-profit that is aimed to help youth who suffer from any kind of drug abuse. 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. I wanted to find out what made the guy tick, and I did a lot of research and thank God I spoke with Mika (Camarenas wife), he told Newsweek. Gallardo was arrested on charges of racketeering, drug smuggling, violent crimes, and the murder of DEA agent Kiki Camarena, and sentenced to 40 years in prison. The proceeds from the sales are used to sponsor six scholarships to high school students throughout the nation each year. I'm not aware why they've linked me to that crime. Later on, he was killed while I was in prison. His left arm was in a cast because he fell a few weeks ago. President Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador has maintained that he is not interested in detaining drug lords and prefers to avoid violence. Enrique Camarena was a DEA special agent who was born in Mexicali, grew up in Calexico, and lost his life while deep undercover in the Guadalajara Cartel one of the biggest marijuana and cocaine drug cartels in Mexico at the time after he was kidnapped, tortured, and found dead almost a month later in La Angostura, Michoacn, Mexico at the age of 37, survived by his wife and three . When Kiki was abducted in Mexico, he was tortured and brutally murdered by drug traffickers. He went on to serve as the deputy district attorney in the Office of the District Attorney of San Diego from 1999 to 2014. This thing, with the bacteria [Covid-19] has severely affected Mexicans' purchasing power, but this man is of goodwill and I hope God will help him. Today, her six living children, all daughters, enjoy professional careers in the public sector and are employed with various federal and state agencies throughout the state and region. And so for me, its still a little bit about the legacy of duty. I received a plastic bag over my head to suffocate me. Meet Enrique "Kiki" Camarena. But recently, the DEA's new head in Mexico received a visa, which the U.S. officials marked as a sign of progress in the relationship. Flix Gallardo: I was in a house in Cosmos in Guadalajara when they knocked down the door, without any arrest warrant, without any search warrant. The non-profit's aim is to fight against youth drug use and abuse. Do you identify with the character that appears in the series? Camarena was born in 1947 in Baja California, Mexico.He moved to the United States of America at a young age, but continued to periodically visit his grandmother in Guadalajara.. After completing his education, he served in the U.S. Marines for three years, attaining a rank of Lance Corporal. The Camarena murder never made any sense to me. And that is what he didin life and through his death. Lenny Jacobson and Mika Camarena attend the Netflix Original Series Narcos: Mexico, special screening at LA Live in Los Angeles, CA on November 14, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. According to organizations such as Semforo Delictivo, about80 percent of these homicidesare related to drugs and drug trafficking. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. Quite the opposite, I hope he succeeds. Some activists have been threatened and even killed in Sonora amid Caro Quinteros turf wars with the sons of "El Chapo. However, Enriques moment to shine truly came in 2014, when he was sworn in as the latest San Diego Superior Court judge. They will just kill you in front of everyone in broad daylight at a coffee shop. In real life, Camarenas wife was indeed named Mika, and she is the mother of his three children. Did he really move to Guadalajara, Mexico and work for the DEA? And Im going to be serving my county, serving this community in a different way., Camarena, much like his father, is a peoples person. In 1985, Camarena was kidnapped, brutally tortured, and then executed. It was too late by then; Caro Quintero was spirited off in a waiting vehicle. A retired skin care consultant, Mika now focuses even more of her time on running the foundation. 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. November 16, only on Netflix. Camarena is pictured here in his high school basketball uniform. In 1956, Kiki moved with his family to Calexico, California. Enrique "Kiki" Camarena was kidnapped and murdered in 1985, leading to a major escalation in the war on drugs. The couple had lived there for four years because of his work for the DEA, which involved trailing Mexican marijuana and cocaine drug traffickers. 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 a police officer, and then he became part of the DEA. I don't know if that's changed now. FollowNBC LatinoonFacebook,TwitterandInstagram. Distractify is a registered trademark. Read More: Narcos: Mexico Filming Locations. Enrique Camarena Jr. was just 11 when his father was killed by cartel members. But, Kiki told her no. Flix Gallardo: I dedicated myself to agriculture and livestock since I was a child. For example, back in 2007, he was part of the Red Ribbon Campaign Against Drugs, to make the public aware of the unseen harm caused by narcotics. He is giving pensions. During his time in Mexico, Camarena came dangerously close to exposing top leaders of a multi-billion dollar drug pipeline in the country. At age 40, Camarena Jr. takes the Superior Court bench after 15 years as a deputy district attorney in San Diego County, and his swearing-in ceremony drew a capacity gallery in the court's presiding department. I also owned some drugstores and two old hotels. In 1985, Camarena was kidnapped in Guadalajara, allegedly on orders from Caro Quintero. All rights reserved, Ed Sheeran Shares His Wife Had a Tumor During Pregnancy, Oleato': Starbucks' Olive Oil-Infused Drinks Spark Curiosity in Italy, Next Winter Storm May Bring Even More Snow to NYC Area This Week: What to Know. The story of Camarena's kidnapping and subsequent grisly death at the hands of a Mexican drug cartel was most recently brought to viewers via the wildly popular Netflix original series "Narcos . What did you do before you were arrested? 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