Mexico captures drug lord tied to DEA killing

The infamous drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, convicted of killing a U.S. DEA agent in 1985, was arrested Friday nearly a decade after walking out of a Mexican prison and returning to drug trafficking, an official with Mexico’s navy confirmed.

The source, who was not authorized to speak publicly, agreed to confirm the action to The Associated Press if not quoted by name. No further details about the capture were immediately available.

The U.S. had offered a $20 million reward for help finding Caro Quintero, who was nabbed during a special operation of the Mexican marines with the Secretary of the Navy, called SEMAR.The brutal murder marked a low point in U.S.-Mexico relations.

Caro Quintero had remained on the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Most Wanted list for years for a variety of crimes, including drug trafficking and orchestrating the kidnapping and murder of Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena. The U.S. closed the Mexican border for several days until public pressure inside Mexico led the cartel to return the agent’s body to American officials.

KILLED BY A CARTEL. BETRAYED BY HIS OWN? U.S. reexamines murder of federal agent featured in ‘Narcos’

“Kiki Camarena has been a North Star for DEA agents since his murder and torture,” Chris Evans, who retired last year after overseeing DEA agents globally, told the Louisville Courier-Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network, on Friday. “His sacrifice has never been forgotten and runs through the blood of the agency.”

The kidnapping is depicted on the Netflix TV series “Narcos,” Season 4.