On July 4, 2025, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) shared evidence in the case of Rafael Caro Quintero, alias “El Príncipe”—co-founder of the Guadalajara Cartel, the first in Mexico, along with Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, “El Padrino” or “El Jefe de Jefes,” and Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo, “Don Neto”—including recordings and photographs of murders.
In a letter signed by prosecutor Joseph Nucella, the Sinaloa drug trafficker’s legal defense team was informed of the content of the documents, which they described as “sensitive discovery material.”
The document indicated that the evidence included recordings of the interrogation and torture of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) special agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena Salazar. Additionally, there were photographs of multiple homicides carried out in 1985 and a murder in 1981.
Judge Frederic Block of the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of New York set September 18, 2025, for the hearing at which Caro Quintero would hear the latest developments by the U.S. Attorney’s Office regarding whether or not to request the death penalty. On March 17, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump stated that the “full force of the law” would be applied to Caro Quintero. According to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons (BOP), he was being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York (MCC New York) under registration number 12303-016, after being sent by the Mexican government to the United States for alleged national security reasons.
“They have been looking for this person for years, and we got him. This evil murderer will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said the New York magnate during a press conference held at the Department of Justice (DOJ).
