Mexican President Downplays US’ Role In Nabbing Infamous Drug Lord

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador claimed Monday that U.S. authorities had no role in the capture of a cartel kingpin who allegedly killed a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent decades ago.

previously led the Guadalajara cartel and was allegedly responsible for the kidnapping and killing of DEA Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena in 1985, according to the DEA. The FBI later placed Caro-Quintero’s name on its most wanted list with a reward of up to $20 million, according to the bureau.

“They had no direct intervention,” Lopez Obrador said about the DEA’s involvement in the operation, according to Reuters. “The Mexican Navy carried out the whole investigation and the apprehension.”

But the U.S. government said that the operation was jointly conducted between the DEA and Mexican authorities.

“Today’s arrest is the culmination of tireless work by DEA and their Mexican partners to bring Caro-Quintero to justice for his alleged crimes, including the torture and execution of DEA Special Agent Enrique ‘Kiki’ Camarena,”  U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement the day of the capture.

“We will be seeking his immediate extradition to the United States so he can be tried for these crimes in the very justice system Special Agent Camarena died defending,” Garland added.

An anonymous source with the Mexican attorney general’s office told Reuters that the DEA supplied their authorities with “important information” to locate Caro-Quintero.

A Department of Justice spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation that Mexican Marines captured Caro-Quintero in an operation the government carried out, referring any questions to the Mexican government.

Neither the DEA nor the White House responded to the DCNF’s requests for comment. A spokesperson for Lopez Obrador also didn’t respond to the DCNF’s request.