US Prosecutors Maintain Death Penalty Option for Caro Quintero in DEA Agent Murder Case

New York, USA – The United States Attorney's Office has confirmed it retains the option to seek the death penalty against Mexican drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero. Caro Quintero is accused of the 1985 kidnapping and murder of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena. During a brief hearing in a New York court, prosecutor Sarita Kuma Traidy indicated that the prosecution plans to present more than 30 wiretaps and recordings as evidence. These recordings reportedly detail the interrogation and torture suffered by Agent Camarena. Caro Quintero did not attend the recent hearing; his lawyer, Elizabeth Macedonio, requested additional time to prepare defense arguments. The defense's central arguments include the fact that the alleged crime occurred 40 years ago and that Caro Quintero's transfer to the United States was part of a mass delivery of 29 alleged capos, not a formal extradition. Judge Frederic Block has scheduled a new hearing for September 18. During this session, evidence will be presented, and the prosecution is expected to definitively state whether it will pursue the death penalty. Caro Quintero is currently held in a cell at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.