Notorious Mexican Drug Cartel Boss Died During a Botched Plastic Surgery to Make Himself Unrecognizable
A notorious Mexican drug cartel boss had a grand plan to evade arrest, and that was through a surgery to change his looks, which eventually led to his death. XAVIER MARTINEZ/AFP via Getty Images

A notorious Mexican drug cartel boss had a grand plan to escape authorities and flee from being imprisoned, and that was through a surgery to change his looks, which eventually led to his death.

According to The Daily Star, Amado Carrillo Fuentes met his untimely death on July 7, 1997, or 25 years ago, during a botched plastic surgery as he attempted to make himself unrecognizable.

His death remains one of the most bizarre ways in which a notorious drug lord died. Carrillo Fuentes, nicknamed "The Lord of the Skies," started overseeing his uncle's drug shipments and quickly worked his way up in the cartel world.

Carrillo Fuentes was known to have killed his boss, Rafael Aguilar Guajardo, in 1993 to seize overall control of the Juarez Cartel.

The Lord of the Skies earned his moniker for being the first drug kingpin to use a fleet of private planes to smuggle cocaine from Colombia into Mexico and then to the United States.

Who Is Mexican Drug Cartel Boss Amado Carrillo Fuentes?

Amado Carrillo Fuentes grew up with 11 siblings. His uncle, who introduced him to the drug trafficking world, was Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo, the leader of the Guadalajara Cartel.

Under the mentorship of his uncle, Carrillo Fuentes was able to start a drug-dealing business. He was tasked to monitor and oversee the Guadalajara Cartel's drug shipments, according to The Sun.

At the peak of his power as the head of the Juarez Cartel, he owned several planes and weapons and managed to expand the cartel's operations to the U.S.

As Mexico and the United States exerted more efforts to arrest him, Carrillo Fuentes decided to undergo a plastic surgery procedure at a private clinic in Mexico City on July 4, 1997 to evade being captured. One of the procedures he had undergone was liposuction.

He lost his life during the operation due to complications. Jaime Godoy Singh, the man thought to have carried out the surgery, and two assistants were found dead in unpleasant circumstances.

Their bodies were found stuffed into steel drums, partially filled with cement, and abandoned along the main highway between Mexico City and Acapulco on November 7, 1997.

Theories Surrounding the Death of Mexican Drug Cartel Boss Amado Carrillo Fuentes

A graphic video showing Amado Carrillo Fuentes in his coffin was reportedly released. Some conspiracy theorists claimed that the man in the coffin was not the real Mexican drug cartel boss but rather one of his aides.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has debunked this claim, but rumors that he was still alive continued to circulate. This was because his cousin, Sergio Carrillo, said after the funeral that the Mexican drug cartel boss was "fine" and "alive."

Sergio added that Carrillo Fuentes and a "poor unfortunate person" had surgeries "to make everybody believe it was him, including the authorities."

According to Washington Post, unlike other Mexican drug kingpins who became household names and faces in the 90s like Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera, Carrillo Fuentes was one of the most mysterious men in Mexico as he lived discreetly, with no wild shootouts and late-night disco hopping.

Few pictures of him reportedly appeared in newspapers or television in the past years. The DEA described him as a low-profile Mexican drug cartel boss who behaved like a "businessman."

It was estimated that Amado Carrillo Fuentes had amassed a fortune of around $25 million. He attained this massive fortune by transporting illegal drugs, primarily cocaine.

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Written by: Mary Webber

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