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Relatives of slain Drug Enforcement Administration agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena filed a lawsuit against the Sinaloa Cartel and three of its kingpins on Thursday – a move only made possible after President Trump clamped down on the murderous drug trafficking group.
The lawsuit filed in California federal court by Camarena’s widow, children, and siblings seeks to hold gangbangers Rafael Caro Quintero, Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo, Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo and the Sinaloa Cartel, which Trump designated a foreign terrorism organization in January, responsible for the DEA agents 1985 torture and murder.
“It has been 40 years since these men and their deadly criminal enterprise ended my husband’s life, which he dedicated to stopping traffickers from flooding our country with dangerous criminals, narcotics, and violence,” Geneva “Mika” Camarena, the widow of Kiki Camarena, said in a statement.
“We are so grateful that President Trump designated the cartels as terrorist organizations, which finally allows my family and me to seek justice,” she added.
Camarena’s family is taking advantage of the recent terror designation against the Sinaloa Cartel to use the federal Anti-Terrorism Act to seek damages for international terrorism, assault and battery, wrongful death and the infliction of emotional distress related to the DEA agent’s killing.
If their lawsuit succeeds, the court could award assets controlled by the Sinaloa Cartel to the Camarena family.
Quintero was convicted in Mexico for being the mastermind behind Camarena’s kidnapping, torture and murder.
The 72-year-old co-founder of the Guadalajara Cartel, a predecessor to the Sinaloa Cartel, was shipped by Mexico to the US last month, where he was charged with murder conspiracy, drug trafficking conspiracy and several other crimes for which he could face the death penalty.
Carrillo and Gallardo are both serving time in Mexico under house arrest for their role in Camarena’s murder.
“While Caro-Quintero’s expulsion to the US signifies the end of the Camarena family’s agonizing wait for tangible action or a sign that the killers of this beloved husband, brother and father would someday see justice here in the US, it also symbolizes the beginning of a new quest to bring that justice to fruition,” Michael Elsner, a lawyer for Camarena’s family, said in a statement.
“This family’s hope for a safer, more just world – the world Kiki Camarena fought for – has been renewed,” he added. “We look forward to continuing this fight in his honor in court.”
Myrna Camarena, Kiki Camarena’s sister, also thanked Trump for his “bold action.”
“My brother Kiki gave his life to protect our communities from the scourge of drugs and violence these cartels unleashed on the United States. For decades, we have carried the pain of his loss, but also his courage,” she said in a statement. “Thanks to President Trump’s bold action in designating the Sinaloa Cartel as a terrorist organization and getting Mexico to expel one of the men responsible for Kiki’s death, we finally have a chance to hold his killers accountable in a United States courtroom.”
“On our mother’s deathbed she wished she could live long enough to see to this man brought to justice in the United States. This fight is for Kiki, for our family, and for every family torn apart by these ruthless criminals. Justice is long overdue, and we will not stop until it is served.”
Kiki Camarena’s widow urged the Trump administration to consider designating more drug cartels as foreign terror groups in order to allow other families victimized by them to seek justice.
“More families like mine, who have lost loved ones to cartel violence, could make the cartels pay a price for their crimes,” Mika Camarena said, specifically imploring the Trump administration to add the Juárez Cartel and La Línea to the foreign terrorist designation list.
