Rafael Caro Quintero Net Worth: Is the Notorious Guadalajara Cartel Founder Still Rich?

Rafael Caro Quintero is one of the founders of Guadalajara Cartel along with Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo and Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo, who all hailed from Mexico's Sinaloa state.

Caro Quintero reportedly started growing marijuana on a small scale as a teenager at his brother's ranch. He eventually obtained other ranches in the neighborhood in less than five years and started to earn larger sums of money and influence.

Rafael Caro Quintero then started working for drug trafficker Pedro Aviles Perez, who taught Caro Quintero and Fonseca Carrillo about drug trafficking.

Perez also took policeman Felix Gallardo and the young Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera under his wing. Perez, who was affiliated with the Guadalajara Cartel, was El Chapo's uncle and mentor.

Rafael Caro Quintero Net Worth

Rafael Caro Quintero was considered a pioneer in Mexico's drug underworld during the 1980s. He allegedly managed operations for the Guadalajara Cartel at a huge marijuana plantation in Mexico's state of Chihuahua called the Rancho Buffalo.

According to InsightCrime, the marijuana plantation had an annual production value of roughly $8 billion. The Guadalaraja Cartel was the only drug trafficking organization in Mexico at the time.

The Guadalaraja Cartel was reportedly responsible for forging the ties to Colombian drug trafficking networks that exist up to this day.

By the age of 29, Rafael Caro Quintero had reportedly racked up a fortune of $500 million, with 36 houses and some 300 companies in the Guadalajara area.

The U.S. Treasury Department has named money laundering companies affiliated with Caro Quintero. Some of them include real estate ventures, gasoline retailers, and agricultural businesses.

Caro Quintero is also described as a "shrewd young entrepreneur" when he managed to turn Mexican marijuana into a perfect seedless variety.

While he was not the first to do it, Caro Quintero perfected it, which is why he was credited with creating seedless marijuana. His innovation resulted in the organization's rise and sold tons of it in the United States, Mexico, and Europe, MARCA reported.

According to reports, Caro Quintero now has an estimated net worth of $650 million. He continued to earn his fortune by selling drugs and other criminal activities.

The Case of Guadalajara Cartel Founder Rafael Caro Quintero

Rafael Caro Quintero had already spent 28 years in prison for the brutal murder and torture of former U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena Salazar.

Mexico's relations with the U.S. were widely affected when the drug kingpin allegedly ordered Camarena to be kidnapped, tortured, and killed.

Caro Quintero was allegedly angry about a raid at Rancho Buffalo by Mexican authorities at Camarena's demand. Mexican authorities seized the plantation.

Camarena was kidnapped in Guadalajara on February 7, 1985. A month later, his lifeless body was discovered, with signs showing that he was tortured.

Caro Quintero, who was arrested in Costa Rica in the same year, has denied involvement in the killing of Camarena. In 2013, he was released by a Mexican judge on a technicality.

The ruling left many wondering why it took more than 20 years to determine that the drug kingpin was improperly tried in court for a crime that should have been treated as a state offense.

After his release, Caro Quintero reportedly resumed his role as a violent drug trafficker. U.S. officials, who put him on the FBI's Top 10 most wanted fugitives list and put a $20 million bounty on his head, said he allied with the drug trafficking organization Sinaloa Cartel.

Last week, Rafael Caro Quintero was arrested again in Sinaloa. The U.S. government hailed the arrest and said it would waste no time requesting his extradition.

The Guadalajara Cartel is one of Latin America's most powerful drug trafficking organizations during the 1980s. The group started to split apart in the late 1980s, partly due to the murder of Camarena. The Sinaloa Cartel and Tijuana Cartel assumed control of what remained of the Guadalajara Cartel.

This article is owned by Latin Post

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Mexico Captures Infamous Drug Lord Rafael Caro Quintero - From WFAA