WORLD : 40 Years for Killing Drug Agent
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MEXICO CITY — Drug kingpin Rafael Caro Quintero was sentenced today to 40 years in prison for masterminding the 1985 murder of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent Enrique Camarena.
The sentence was handed down by Judge Tomas Hernandez Franco of the 4th Criminal Court in Guadalajara.
The killing of Camarena, a U.S. agent based in Mexico, and the subsequent investigation strained relations between Mexico and the United States. U.S. officials said the Mexicans allowed Caro Quintero to escape to Costa Rica, where he was finally hunted down.
Camarena was kidnaped Feb. 7, 1985, in Guadalajara, a major drug-trafficking center. His Mexican pilot, Alfredo Zavala Avelar, was also abducted. Their bullet-riddled bodies, showing signs of torture, were found March 5 on a ranch about 60 miles away.
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