The U.S. State Department has announced a $20 million reward for Mexican drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, CNN reports.
Caro Quintero, who is believed to be in his 50s or 60s, recently became the newest addition to the bureau’s Top 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list, and faces charges of conspiring to murder a federal agent.
FBI Deputy Director David Bowdich described Caro Quintero, a senior leader of the Sinaloa cartel, as “one of the Mexican godfathers of drug trafficking,” according to CNN.
“Caro Quintero remains in hiding and we need the public’s help in finding this violent fugitive who is currently a menace to society,” Bowditch said at a press conference, adding that the suspect is believed to still be in Mexico.
According to a federal indictment unsealed Thursday, Caro Quintero is implicated in the kidnapping and murder of Drug Enforcement Administration special agent Enrique Camarena Salazar, CNN reports.
Camarena Salazar was abducted, tortured and killed in 1985 in retaliation for a raid on Caro Quintero’s marijuana farm the year prior, according to the DEA. Caro Quintero was reportedly jailed in Mexico in relation to the murder, but was released in 2013 and resumed his work in the drug trade.
He also faces charges in the U.S. of trafficking drugs including cocaine, heroine, marijuana and methamphetamine. According to CNN, the reward is among the highest on record, sponsored by the State Department’s Narcotics Rewards Program.
Correction: The original version of this story misstated the organization offering the reward for Rafael Caro Quintero. It is the U.S. State Department, not the FBI.
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