Amado Carrillo Fuentes

Amado Fuentes (1956 – July 3 1997) was a Mexican drug lord and boss of the Juárez Cartel. Born in Guamuchilito, Sinaloa, he died due to complications from a plastic surgery operation intended to change his appearance to escape authorities. He was also known for laundering over US$20 million via Colombia to finance his huge fleet of planes used to transport cocaine. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration described Carrillo as the most powerful drug trafficker of his era, and many analysts claimed profits neared $25 billion, making him one of the world's wealthiest men. [Operation Impunity Dismantles Nationwide Drug Trafficking Operation, September 10, 1999, DEA]

Career

Amado Fuentes was believed to be a part of the Guadalajara Cartel, sent to Ojinaga to oversee his boss's cocaine shipments, and to learn about border operations from Pablo Acosta. He was a long-time "socio" or partner of Acosta, and was also the nephew of the Guadalajara Cartel leader, Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo.

As the top drug trafficker in Mexico, Carrillo was transporting four times more cocaine to the U.S. than any other trafficker in the world, building a fortune of over US$25 billion.He was called "El Señor de los Cielos" ("The lord of the Skies") for his pioneering use of over 27 private 727 jet airliners to transport Colombian cocaine to municipal airports, and dirt airstrips around Mexico, including Ciudad Juárez. In the months before his death, Carrillo's business was growing exponentially: his cartel was shipping multi-ton shipments directly into Manhattan, and million dollar payments to Carrillo were seized at the El Paso-Ciudad Juárez border. According to reports, during that same time, Carrillo was frequently travelling in his private jets to Cuba, Russia, and other nations in search of a safe haven. He had been hunted by law enforcement since he took over the cartel in April 1993 after the death of Rafael Aguilar Guajardo.

Credited by anti-drug agents as being one of the most low-key, sophisticated, and diplomatic of Mexico's cartel chiefs — he even formed joint operating agreements with rival trafficking groups — Carrillo's growing empire and alleged connection to General Jesús Gutiérrez Rebollo, Mexico's top drug enforcement official, earned him recognition as "the most powerful of Mexico's drug traffickers" by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.

Death and conspiracy theories

The pressure to capture Carrillo intensified among U.S. and Mexican authorities, and perhaps for this reason, Carrillo underwent facial plastic surgery and liposuction of his stomach to change his appearance on July 3, 1997 at Santa Mónica Hospital in Mexico City. However, during the eight-hour operation, he apparently died of complications caused either by a medication or a malfunctioning respirator. Two of Carrillo's bodyguards were in the operating room during the procedure. It is unclear whether the lethal dose of the drug Dormicum was administered intentionally or in error, by the surgeon or the bodyguards. There are many possible ways he could have died: shock or heart attack caused by the medicine alone or in conjunction with cocaine in Carrillo's system, by the bodyguards or by the surgeon, or by the malfunction of the respirator.

Some of the wilder theories reported in Mexican newspapers hold that Carrillo's bodyguards smothered him with a pillow; or that the PGR tortured him to death first, then faked the plastic surgery; [later autopsy reports seemed to rule this out] or, as was reported in "El Financiero", the corpse was really that of Amado's cousin (presuming, of course, that Carrillo had paid someone to substitute his cousin's ID, DNA, blood samples, dental records, fingerprints for his own — indeed, Carrillo had purchased multiple sets of identities, according to the paper); or, perhaps the most unusual version, reported by respected radio and TV journalist Pedro Ferriz de Con, was that Carrillo committed suicide, according to an interview where Carillo allegedly said, "If I die, nobody killed me. The only person who can kill Amado Carrillo is Amado Carrillo."

The DEA confirmed the body belonged to Amado Carrillo four days after his alleged death, using fingerprints positively matched to an old U.S. immigration card. Authorities from the PGR (Attorney General's Office) disputed the accuracy of this method, claiming they could not confirm the body as Carrillo's until further toxicological, DNA, and other tests. Finally, on July 11, the PGR announced that the body was that of Carrillo, based on forensic tests including DNA, fingerprints, blood samples, scars, and ear shapes. However, PGR officials were still not sure if the death was caused by homicide or medical malpractice. As of July 22, officials were still debating whether it was the Dormicum, accidentally or intentionally administered, or the respirator. The PGR began an investigation, beginning with Carrillo's surgeon, Pedro López Saucedo, to determine the degree of responsibility of Santa Mónica Hospital in the drug lord's death.

Juárez cartel after Carrillo

Whether Carrillo slipped away to another country or died in Mexico City, the fact remained that he was no longer operating as head of Mexico's largest (and Ciudad Juárez-based) drug trafficking cartel. It was assumed immediate control of the cartel would fall to Amado's brother Vicente Carrillo, 34, who was already overseeing operations in Juárez. Two other brothers work for the cartel, but DEA authorities said it would be unusual for there to be in-fighting among the organization. U.S. DEA chief Thomas Constantine and Mexican drug enforcement agents said they predicted a bloody battle among rival trafficking groups seeking to expand their own turf. They expected the Juárez Cartel's fiercest challenger to be the rival Tijuana Cartel, allegedly led by the Arellano Félix brothers, who control almost all the drug trafficking between Tijuana and Mexicali. Other major drug traffickers expected to vie for power, [El Paso Times] included Jesus "Chuy" Amezcua Contreras, who mainly imports ephedrine from India and Thailand, which is then used to manufacture methamphetamines in the U.S. and Mexico, and Miguel Caro-Quintero, leader of a cartel which has smuggled marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and weapons, mainly across the Sonora-Arizona border, since 1985.

As of July 29, 1997 U.S. and Mexican officials believed Sinaloa native Juan José Esparragoza "El Azul" Moreno would emerge as the leader of the Juárez drug cartel. Esparragoza is known as a diplomatic trafficker with solid connections to Colombian cocaine suppliers. In the weeks following confirmation of Carrillo's death, there were five to a dozen drug-related assassinations in Ciudad Juárez. [according to public news radio reports, and Juárez and Chihuahua police] Intelligence officials say key drug traffickers met in heavily secured, back-room bunkers at Juárez strip clubs to sort out business. A DEA agent said he believes, as of July 29, that there will not be a bloody turf war in Mexico or anywhere else, because "They're smart people and they're not going to attract attention to themselves." [Earnest Howard, DEA agent in charge of the Houston region] Afterward, "El Chapo" Guzman became the number one drug lord in Mexico.

In Juárez, the PGR seized warehouses they believed the cartel used for storage of weapons and cocaine. PGR agents have seized over 60 properties all over Mexico that belonged to Carrillo, and have begun an investigation into his dealings with the police and government officials. The PGR say he bribed or illegally employed hundreds of thousands of people.

Funeral and eulogy

Carrillo was given a large and expensive funeral in Guamuchilito, Sinaloa, where he was revered as a kind of "Robin Hood" by the people, according to a special report in the "Diario de Juárez". He was known for giving away money, cattle, and presents to hundreds of people, including cars such as Ram Chargers, Grand Cherokees, Chevrolet Suburbans, and Lincoln Continentals. Amado Carrillo even built the village church. Though called a drug lord by federal agents, according to friends and family Carrillo was "a noble soul, loving with his family," a simple man who "loved baseball and enchiladas stuffed with hot red chile." Fact|date=August 2007

"There are no arrest or search warrants for Amado Carrillo Fuentes in Juárez now or before his death," Chihuahua State Police spokesman Ernesto García said on July 21. "As far as we know, he has not committed or been a part of any illegal activities here." Fact|date=August 2007

His mansion in the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora, dubbed the Palace of a Thousand and One Nights still sits unoccupied in the state's capital, Hermosillo. In 2006, Gov. Eduardo Bours asked the federal government to tear it down. ^{[http://borderreporter.com/?p=40]}

Notes

ee also

*Vicente Carrillo Fuentes
*Gulf Cartel
*Tijuana Cartel
*Juárez Cartel
*Los Zetas
*Los Covarrubias
*Joaquín Guzmán
*War on Drugs
*Los Negros
*Narcotrafficking in Colombia
*Mérida Initiative

External links

* [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/mexico/family/juarezcartel.html Public Broadcasting, info straight from the Drug Enforcement Agency]
* [http://www.drugwar.com/pmexdrugpit.shtm Drugwar.com - Commentary and Info]