Sonora Cartel - Background

Background

The Sonora Cartel was considered by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to be one of the oldest and best-established cartels. The cartel′s roots are in the Guadalajara Cartel, which dissolved after the 1989 arrest of its co-founder, Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo.

Rafael Caro Quintero, Miguel's brother, is in jail for his role in the killing of DEA Special Agent Enrique Camarena in 1985. The Sonora cartel had direct links to Colombian drug cartels and operated routes into California, Arizona, Texas and Nevada.

The Sonora cartel was headed by Miguel Caro Quintero and operated out of Hermosillo, Agua Prieta, Guadalajara and Culiacán, as well as the Mexican states of San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa and Sonora.

The Sonora Cartel was led by Miguel Caro-Quintero, brother to Guadalajara Cartel co-founder, Rafael Caro Quintero, who was arrested in Costa Rica in 1985 in connection with the torture and death of DEA Special Agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena Salazar. Miguel Caro-Quintero would eventually be arrested in 1989, however it is believed he still maintains control over the organization from behind bars.

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