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Sonora Cartel

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Sonora Cartel
Founded1987[1]
Founded byMiguel Caro Quintero,Rafael Caro Quintero
Founding locationMexico
Years active1987−2007
TerritoryHermosillo,Agua Prieta,Guadalajara,Culiacán,Durango,Nayarit,Arizona,Texas,California,Nevada
EthnicitymostlyMexican
Criminal activitiesDrug trafficking,money laundering,extortion, murder and arms trafficking
AlliesColombian drug cartels,Guadalajara Cartel

TheSonora Cartel,also known asCaro Quintero Organization,was aMexicobased criminalcartel.[2][3][4]Upon the cartel's disintegration, its leaders were incorporated into theTijuana CartelandSinaloa Cartel.[3]

By 2007, the Sonora Cartel,Colima Cartel,andMilenio Cartelbecame branches of theSinaloa Cartel.

Background[edit]

The Sonora Cartel was considered by the United StatesDrug Enforcement Administration(DEA) to be one of the oldest and best-established cartels. The Sonora cartel was headed byMiguel Caro Quintero,brother toGuadalajara Cartelco-founderRafael Caro Quintero,and operated out ofHermosillo,Agua Prieta,GuadalajaraandCuliacán,as well as the Mexican states ofNayarit,SinaloaandSonora.The Sonora cartel's roots are in the Guadalajara Cartel, which dissolved after the 1989 arrest of its co-founder,Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo.The Sonora cartel had direct links toColombian drug cartelsand operated routes intoCalifornia,Arizona,TexasandNevada.[5]

Rafael Caro Quinterowas arrested inCosta Ricain 1985 in connection with the torture and death of DEA Special AgentEnrique "Kiki" Camarena.[2]Miguel Caro Quintero would eventually be arrested in 1989, however it was believed he still maintained control over the organization from behind bars.[2][6]By 2007, however, the Sinaloa Cartel had acquired the Sonora Cartel.[7]

Operations[edit]

The Sonora Cartel is believed to be one of the earliest cartels to begin shippingcocainefromColombia,particularly from theCali Cartel.The cartel was involved in the cultivation and distribution ofmarijuanaprimarily, however secondary functions include the transportation and distribution ofmethamphetamine.[2][3][4]

Operating out of northern central Mexico, the cartel was believed to smuggle drugs intoArizona,TexasandCaliforniafrom a network of ranches along the northern border region where the drugs are stored prior to shipment. The Sonora Cartel has been specifically linked to operating out ofHermosilloandAgua PrietainSonora,but also less so inGuadalajarainJalisco,CuliacáninSinaloa,and the States ofNayaritandDurango.[3][5]

Acquired by the Sinaloa Cartel by 2007,[7]the Sonora Cartel was reported as defunct at the time of Miguel Angel Caro Quintero's conviction in 2010.[8]

Despite their eventual releases from prison, the Caro Quintero brothers have lost influence in the Mexican drug business, with ex-DEA agent Mike Vigil even stating in the June 2020 that Rafael Caro Quintero "will fall before he dies of old age."[9]Vigil also revealed that Sinaloa Cartel's Los Salazar affiliate was now a major figure in Sonora's drug trafficking business.[9]However, both Rafael and Miguel Caro Quintero had recently rejected offers to join the Sinaloa Cartel due to a fallout with the sons of imprisoned former leaderJoaquín Archivaldo Guzmánover leadership status.[9]Despite this, both were said to be on good terms with de jure Sinaloa Cartel leader Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, who was now in poor health.[9]

Miguel Caro Quintero[edit]

Main article:Miguel Caro Quintero

Miguel Caro Quintero was born inCaborca,Sonora,Mexico, in 1963. Previously arrested in 1992 on charges oftax evasion,he was found not guilty, which the DEA attributes to the use of threats and bribes by Caro Quintero. While imprisoned, it is believed Caro Quintero was still running the Sonora Cartel, where he is purging a prison sentence forracketeering,drug smugglingandmoney laundering.Caro Quintero was arrested in December 2001 inLos Mochis,Sinaloa. Prior to his arrest he repeatedly stated he is innocent of the charges and has accused the DEA of pursuing a vendetta against him for his brother, Rafael Caro Quintero's, alleged role in the death of DEA Special Agent Enrique Camarena. Miguel Caro Quintero is noted as having called into a radio station to profess his innocence, stating: "If I had a cartel, I'd have a lot of money and my brother wouldn't be there (in jail)" and claiming to be an innocent rancher. He further stated he does not believe his brother was involved in the killing of the DEA agent.[3][4]

Rafael Caro Quintero[edit]

Main article:Rafael Caro Quintero

Rafael Caro Quintero is the co-founder, withMiguel Ángel Félix Gallardo,of theGuadalajara Carteland Sonora Cartel. He was arrested inCosta Ricaon April 4, 1985, for the kidnapping, torture and murder of federal agentEnrique Camarena,and was also charged with violent crimes in aid ofracketeering,possession with intent to distributemarijuanaandcocaine,murder, continuing criminal enterprise.[10]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Beith, Malcolm (2010).The Last Narco.New York, New York: Grove Press. p.47.ISBN978-0-8021-1952-0.
  2. ^abcdRichards, James R. (1998).Transnational Criminal Organizations, Cybercrime, and Money Laundering.CRC Press. p. 320.ISBN978-0-8493-2806-0.
  3. ^abcdeJesse Helms, ed. (1999).Mexican and American Responses to the International Narcotics Threat.U.S. Senate, Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps, Narcotics and Terrorism of the Committee on Foreign Relations. pp. 61, 136, 137.ISBN978-0-7881-8008-8.
  4. ^abcWeiner, Tim (December 22, 2001)."Suspect in Vast Drug Ring Held in Mexico; May Be Sent to U.S."The New York Times.Retrieved2008-04-14.
  5. ^ab"DEA - Publications - Congressional Testimony - 09/12/96".United States Drug Enforcement Administration. September 12, 1996. Archived fromthe originalon October 8, 1999.Retrieved2008-04-14.
  6. ^Liddick, Donald R. (2004).The Global Underworld: Transnational Crime and the United States.Greenwood Publishing Group.p. 33.ISBN978-0-275-98074-0.
  7. ^abGrayson, George W. (August 2007)."Mexico and the Drug Cartels".Foreign Policy Research Institute.Archived fromthe originalon 2012-03-09.Retrieved2010-09-19.
  8. ^"Miguel Angel Caro Quintero, Former Sonoran Cartel Boss, Convicted In Denver".HuffPost.February 4, 2010.
  9. ^abcd""Va a caer antes de que muera de viejo", la advertencia de Mike Vigil a Caro Quintero, "el Narco de Narcos"".24 June 2020.
  10. ^'Wanted' poster.Archived2009-08-27 at theWayback Machine
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