Guadalajara Cartel Founder Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo Finally Speaks About Murdered DEA Agent ‘Kiki’ Camarena
For the first time since he was arrested in 1989, Guadalajara Cartel founder Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo has openly talked about his connection to the death of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena Salazar.
In an interview with Telemundo, Felix Gallardo denied knowing Camarena, saying he does not know why officials relate him to the death of the DEA agent and why he's in prison.
The Guadalajara Cartel founder that he was very sorry because he believes that Camarena was a good man. He also said that he's not a gun person.
Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo also delivered a message to Camarena's widow, saying he wishes her comfort and hoped she feel relieved that the culprits are serving time.
The now 75-year-old drug kingpin also denied any relationship or connection with the alleged Guadalajara Cartel co-founders, Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo and Rafael Caro-Quintero.
Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo said he does not know the two men as he has never met them or talked to them. The alleged three Guadalajara Cartel co-founders were convicted for their participation in Camarena's kidnapping, torture, and murder. However, only Felix Gallardo remains incarcerated in a penitentiary center.
The former Guadalajara Cartel boss noted that he had never met Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, who founded the Medellin cartel. He also denied the existence of the Guadalajara Cartel. He noted that drug cartels have never existed in Guadalajara.
"I don't know if that's changed now. That never happened. In other words, we led a family life. I took my children to school," Felix Gallardo said.
When the former Mexican drug kingpin was asked if he regrets anything, he answered by saying he has not made a mistake, so there's "nothing to regret."
Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo also said that he does not have hopes of getting out of prison. He noted that he had lost all hope to be released and believed that he would die in prison.
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Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo has once worked with Caro-Quintero, who has been named to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list, Axios reported.
Felix Gallardo also oversaw lieutenants like young Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, who later became the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel.
The Guadalajara Cartel founder was also known to work with Amado Carrillo Fuentes for the fleet of airplanes used to move drugs for his Juarez cartel.
Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo was first arrested in April 1989 and had since then spent 32 years in prison in Mexico for the death of Camarena.
According to an NBC News report, he was re-sentenced to 37 years for Camarena's murder, including other charges such as stockpiling weapons, bribery, murder, drug trafficking, and money laundering.
Felix Gallardo's first trial was the longest in Mexican history, which lasted for more than 28 years until his conviction in 2017.
The Guadalajara Cartel
The rise of the Guadalajara Cartel started during the emergence of marijuana and cocaine in the U.S. in the 1960s and '70s.
Wilson Center reported that Felix Gallardo's drug cartel gained power due to their connections to the powerful Colombian drug cartels and the lack of internal rivalries and competitions in Mexico at the time.
Camarena has started gathering evidence to prosecute the Guadalajara Cartel members in the early 1980s. He then helped Mexican authorities destroyed large marijuana fields before Guadalajara Cartel operatives killed him.
The group started to split apart in the late 1980s partly due to the 1985 murder of Camarena. The Sinaloa cartel and Tijuana cartel assumed control of what remained of the Guadalajara Cartel.
READ MORE: A Four-Part Docuseries About Enrique "Kiki" Camarena's Short Life
This article is owned by Latin Post
Written by: Mary Webber
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