In a striking exposé published by Mexican journalist Héctor de Mauleón, it is alleged that Rafael Caro Quintero—the infamous drug lord known as the “narco of narcos”—negotiated protection for his family with then-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) following his 2022 arrest.
According to de Mauleón’s column in El Universal, the arrest of Caro Quintero was catalyzed by diplomatic pressure from the United States. During a July 2022 meeting in Washington, Vice President Kamala Harris reportedly urged AMLO to take decisive action against drug traffickers, specifically citing Caro Quintero’s role in the 1985 murder of DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena. Just three days later, Caro Quintero was captured in Choix, Sinaloa, in an operation supported by the DEA.
However, de Mauleón claims that after the arrest, a high-level emergency meeting was held at Mexico’s National Palace involving key officials, including Alejandro Gertz Manero and Arturo Zaldívar. The group allegedly decided to halt the expedited extradition process demanded by the U.S., aiming to shield political figures such as Manuel Bartlett from potential fallout.
Most controversially, de Mauleón reports that an emissary from Mexico’s Secretariat of the Interior visited Caro Quintero in prison to negotiate terms. The alleged deal offered protection and benefits for his family in exchange for cooperation or silence, should extradition proceed.
Caro Quintero was eventually extradited in February 2025 under President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration, alongside 28 other traffickers, marking one of Mexico’s largest extradition efforts. These revelations, if verified, paint a complex picture of political maneuvering, international pressure, and the enduring influence of organized crime within Mexico’s corridors of power.
Source: Politico
