Today, Enrique “Kiki” Camarena’s widow, children, and siblings filed a multi-cause civil action in California federal court seeking to hold indicted drug kingpins Rafael Caro-Quintero, Ernesto Fonseca-Carrillo, Miguel Angel Felix-Gallardo, and the Sinaloa Cartel (formerly known as both the Mexican Federation and the Guadalajara Cartel), responsible for the DEA special agent’s brutal kidnap and murder in 1985. The action taken today, 40 years in the making, was made possible by President Trump’s executive order classifying several Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and forcing the expulsion of those responsible for Kiki’s murder to the U.S.
“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. We are so grateful that President Trump designated the cartels as terrorist organizations, which finally allows my family and me 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 if the administration adds the Juárez Cartel and La Línea to the foreign terrorist designation list,” stated Geneva “Mika” Camarena, widow of Kiki Camarena.
Litigation using the Anti-Terrorism Act
This survival action is brought under the federal Anti-Terrorism Act and seeks compensatory, punitive, and treble damages (a penalty up to three times the family’s actual damages) for international terrorism in violation of federal law, assault and battery, wrongful death, negligent and/or intentional infliction of emotional distress, and loss of consortium with regards to Kiki Camarena’s estate.
“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. 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,” said Myrna Camarena, sister of Kiki Camarena.
U.S. Government says cartels are terrorist organizations
Following President Trump’s executive order directing the U.S. State Department to designate Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations, on February 20, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio designated the defendant Sinaloa Cartel a Foreign Terrorist Organization pursuant to section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended. On February 27, Caro-Quintero was expelled from Mexico and arrived in the Eastern District of New York. One day later, Caro-Quintero was arraigned in the Eastern District of New York, while wearing handcuffs that belonged to Kiki.
“While Caro-Quintero’s expulsion to the U.S. 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 U.S., it also symbolizes the beginning of a new quest to bring that justice to fruition,” said Motley Rice anti-terrorism attorney and legal counsel for the Camarena family, Michael E. Elsner. “This family’s hope for a safer, more just world – the world Kiki Camarena fought for – has been renewed. We look forward to continuing this fight in his honor in court.”
Defendants Caro-Quintero, Ernesto Fonseca-Carrillo, and Miguel Angel Felix-Gallardo founded the Guadalajara Cartel (now known as the Sinaloa Cartel) in the 1970s. Even after their arrests and convictions in Mexico for murdering Camarena and his pilot Alfredo Zavala-Avelar, the defendants’ drug trafficking faction continued to work through persistent leadership and operational links with the members of the Sinaloa Cartel through regional-based drug trafficking syndicates.
Caro-Quintero worked closely with Juan José Esparragoza-Moreno, who controlled elements of the Sinaloa Cartel alongside its co-founders, Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán (a former Guadalajara Cartel lieutenant) and Ismael Mario "El Mayo" Zambada-Garcia.
Camarena lawsuit timeline
February 7, 1985 - Five gunmen working for the Guadalajara Cartel abducted Camarena off the streets of Guadalajara, across from the DEA’s offices inside the U.S. Consulate. Other cartel operatives kidnapped Zavala-Avelar near the Guadalajara airport and took him to the same location as Camarena.
Defendants and their co-conspirators interrogated and tortured Camarena and Zavala-Avelar for over 30 hours. To prolong his torture, defendants summoned a doctor to administer drugs to Camarena to keep him conscious during the beatings.
On or around February 9, 1985 - Cartel members and their co-conspirators murdered both men.
March 5, 1985 - Mexican and U.S. authorities recovered the men’s bodies in a shallow grave.
April 1985 - Mexican and Costa Rican authorities arrested Caro-Quintero on charges related to Kiki’s murder and drug trafficking. Mexican courts convicted him of Kiki’s murder and of drug trafficking charges and sentenced him to 40 years in prison.
Mexican authorities also arrested Fonseca-Carrillo in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, charging him with Camarena’s murder. A search of Fonseca-Carrillo’s home uncovered recordings of Camarena’s interrogation and torture. Later that year, Mexican courts found Fonseca-Carrillo guilty of Camarena’s kidnapping and murder and sentenced him to 40 years in prison.
1989 - Mexican authorities arrested Felix-Gallardo. Evidence presented at U.S. and Mexican criminal trials proved these defendants, who collectively controlled the Guadalajara Cartel, planned and directed Kiki’s kidnapping, torture, and murder with the help of co-conspirators. He, too, was sentenced to 40 years and remains in Mexico.
2000 - Caro-Quintero was designated by the U.S. as a significant foreign narcotics trafficker under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act), 21 U.S.C. §§ 1901 et seq. in 2000.
April 15, 2009 - The United States Treasury Department, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), first designated the Sinaloa Cartel (f/k/a the Guadalajara Cartel) on its Specially-Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list and has renewed the designation annually.
2016 - Fonseca-Carrillo successfully petitioned a Mexican court to release him under house arrest because of his age and health. He continues to serve his sentence in Mexico.
February 2025 – The Sinaloa Cartel was designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and Caro-Quintero was expelled from Mexico and arrived in the Eastern District of New York to face charges related to his leading a drug-trafficking enterprise from 1980-2018 which, among other things, conspired to murder Kiki Camarena.
March 2025 - The Camarena family filed suit seeking justice in civil court for Kiki Camarena’s death.
Motley Rice LLC and Mitchell & Mitchell LLC of S.C. and Turner & Associates, P.A. of San Diego represent all the plaintiffs in this matter.
About Motley Rice
With a tradition of representing those whose rights have been violated, Motley Rice attorneys gained recognition for their pioneering asbestos lawsuits, their work with the State Attorneys General in the landmark litigation against Big Tobacco, and their representation of 9/11 families in the ongoing lawsuit against terrorist financiers. Today Motley Rice attorneys represent thousands of clients in multidistrict litigations, class actions and individual lawsuits in state and federal courts against some of the world’s largest companies.
Motley Rice has a robust track record of successfully resolving some of the most complex and high-stakes civil cases in the country. Following the filing of the landmark 9/11 litigation, Motley Rice expanded its human rights practice group, to continue seeking justice for other victims of terrorism, human rights abuses, and corporate misconduct around the globe. Other practice areas include consumer protection, occupational disease, toxic tort, aviation, pharmaceutical litigation, and securities fraud.
For more information, contact Motley Rice attorney Michael E. Elsner at 1.800.768.4026.