Enrique Camarena
A DEA agent whose kidnapping and murder by the Guadalajara Cartel sparked a major U.S. investigation and ten trials in Los Angeles.
Enrique Camarena Salazar (July 26, 1947 – February 9, 1985) was a Mexican-American agent of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). In February 1985, Camarena was kidnapped by police officers hired by the Guadalajara Cartel. After being brutally tortured for information, Camarena was eventually killed. The U.S. investigation into Camarena's murder led to ten trials in Los Angeles for Mexican nationals involved in the crime. The case continues to trouble U.S.–Mexican relations, most recently when Rafael Caro Quintero, one of the three convicted traffickers, was released from a Mexican prison in 2013. Caro Quintero was again captured by Mexican forces in July 2022, reigniting discussions surrounding Camarena’s murder and its impact on enforcing drug policies domestically and abroad.
Quick Facts
- Birth name
- Enrique Camarena Salazar
- Born
- 26 July 1947
- Birthplace
- Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico
- Died
- February 9, 1985
- Place of death
- Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
- Cause of death
- Assassination (torture and blunt force trauma to the head)
- Education
- Calexico High School
- Spouse
- Mika Camarena
Lore & Background
Camarena was born on July 26, 1947, in Mexicali, Mexico, and his family immigrated to Calexico, California when he was a child. After graduating from Calexico High School in 1966, he joined the Marines in 1968. Following his discharge in 1970, he returned to Calexico and joined the police department, then moved on to undercover narcotics work as a Special Agent on the Imperial County Narcotic Task Force. After the DEA was established in 1973, both Camarena and his sister Myrna joined the agency—Myrna as a secretary and Enrique as a special agent in the DEA's Calexico resident office.
In 1977, he transferred to Fresno, where author Elaine Shannon described him as "a natural in the theater of the street," able to "slip effortlessly into a Puerto Rican accent or toss off Mexican gutter slang—whatever the role demanded." In 1980, a colleague suggested he apply for an assignment in Guadalajara, where a position was open. By this time, Camarena was married and had three sons. Guadalajara's spring-like weather, the American school, and the favorable exchange rate convinced him and his family the move would be good for them.
Reader's Guide
Enrique Camarena was a real DEA agent whose life and death became a catalyst for modern anti-narcotics efforts. Born in Mexicali, Mexico on July 26, 1947, he immigrated to Calexico, California as a child and graduated from Calexico High School in 1966. After serving in the Marines from 1968 to 1970, he joined the Calexico police department and later worked undercover on the Imperial County Narcotic Task Force. He joined the DEA in 1973 as a special agent in Calexico, then transferred to Fresno in 1977.
In 1980, he moved to Guadalajara, where he investigated the growing power of the Guadalajara Cartel—specifically Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo, and Rafael Caro Quintero. In February 1985, Camarena was kidnapped by police officers hired by the cartel, brutally tortured for information, and killed. His murder led to ten trials in Los Angeles for Mexican nationals involved in the crime. The case continues to trouble U.S.–Mexican relations, most recently when Caro Quintero was released from a Mexican prison in 2013 and recaptured in July 2022.
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