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Drug wars the camarena story movie2/26/2023 ![]() ![]() agents working in Mexico reported being tailed by cartel operatives, and one agent’s car was shot up by machine gun fire outside his house. U.S. officials turned to some cartel associates to help illegally arm and equip rebels battling the Sandinista government in Nicaragua in what came to be known as the Iran-contra affair. He said he was asked not to discuss the case, “but we’re in a free country.”Ĭamarena was kidnapped and killed during a harrowing time in efforts to stop drugs from pouring across the U.S. Lira, a former state policeman in Mexico who provided security for a Guadalajara Cartel kingpin on the side, told USA TODAY that prosecutors said he might have to testify in court if the case evolves. ![]() ![]() He said he was asked not to discuss the case, “but we’re in a free country."īeyond that, the witnesses who provided information to authorities are closely tied to a former agent, Hector Berrellez, who has long alleged a CIA connection to Camarena’s death and was accused by a defense lawyer involved in the case of encouraging a witness to lie. Other lawyers who received access to some of the new witness accounts described them in a court filing as “incredible.” Criminal cases seldom improve with age as both memories and evidence fade, and the investigation of Camarena’s murder has produced reams of conflicting evidence that would make any new prosecution especially challenging. People familiar with the case said there are reasons to be skeptical that much will come of the new inquiry. A spokeswoman for the DEA, Mary Brandenberger, said she could not comment on ongoing investigations.Ĭamarena’s son, Enrique Jr., a county judge in San Diego, declined to comment through a spokesman because judicial ethics rules “don’t allow him to comment on open cases or investigations.” The Justice Department declined to answer questions about the case. Investigators are pursuing additional witnesses to see whether the allegations can be corroborated. It is unclear how much weight authorities ascribe to the allegations, but they interviewed the witnesses several times, questioning them for hours about Camarena’s murder and a series of meetings in the months before. Lopez said prosecutors showed him old photographs of former U.S. The witnesses said they described the details to federal agents in 2018. They claimed the DEA official accepted money from the cartel. Three of the witnesses – former Mexican police officers Ramon Lira, Rene Lopez and George Godoy, who had worked as security guards for cartel kingpins – spoke with USA TODAY and recounted that they told investigators a DEA official and a CIA operative were present at meetings where Camarena’s abduction was discussed. Drug Enforcement Administration agent, was murdered in Mexico in 1985. Justice Department agents and prosecutors obtained statements from witnesses implicating a Central Intelligence Agency operative and a DEA official in the plot to torture and murder Camarena, according to the witnesses, Camarena’s widow and others familiar with the case who were interviewed by USA TODAY.Įnrique "Kiki" Camarena, a U.S. ![]() authorities are investigating potentially explosive new evidence in the case: allegations that Camarena was betrayed. Drug Enforcement Administration history and provided the plot for the Netflix series "Narcos: Mexico." More than three decades after the incident, U.S. The highly publicized abduction and murder in 1985 was one of the darkest moments in U.S. The men, who worked for one of Mexico’s most powerful drug cartels, forced Camarena into their car and drove him to a cramped guest house nearby, where he was beaten, burned and eventually killed. consulate in Guadalajara, Mexico, ready to block the young federal agent if he tried to escape. LOS ANGELES – The gunmen were waiting for Enrique Camarena. They positioned themselves on the streets surrounding his office at the U.S. An undated file photo of Enrique "Kiki" Camarena, the DEA agent murdered in Mexico in 1985. ![]()
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