Enrique is now a deputy district attorney. The inclusion of a link on this website does not constitute an official endorsement, guarantee, or approval by DEA. My life expectancy is nonexistent. And sure enough, thats what happened. Full Context. Michael Pea plays DEA Agent Enrique Kiki Camarena in Season 1 of Narcos: Mexico. In Sonora, one of the state's hit hardest by Caro Quintero's efforts to reclaim his territory, there was a hope his arrest could help. Camarena was survived by his widow, Geneva (also known as Mika), and their three children. Mika Camarena continues to honor her former husbands legacy through the foundations work. In her interview with The San Diego Union-Tribune, Camarena says that, since retiring, she has been able to fully dedicate herself to the foundation, and using the money it receives to offer scholarships to college-bound students. Soon after, they got hitched and had three sons . "My health is terrible. Did he really move to Guadalajara, Mexico and work for the DEA? However, she recently received unprecedented media attention after Netflix produced the crime-drama series 'Narcos: Mexico' in 2018, which depicted the tragic story of her husband. The case has been a point of contention . Its now showing on Amazon Prime. Enrique S. Camarena Jr. was 11 when members of a narco-trafficking cartel tortured and murdered his father, nicknamed Kiki, in Mexico in February, 1985 -- a tragic milestone in a drug war that still rages on. Kuykendall is quoted in the book Whiteout: The CIA, Drugs, and the Press by Alexander Cockburn. Enrique "Kiki" Camarena, agente de la DEA nacido en Mxico y naturalizado estadounidense, fue secuestrado el 7 de febrero de 1985 por hombres del Crtel de Guadalajara dos semanas antes de . [I was] with my family. The previous seasons focused on the rise and fall of Pablo Escobar and the Cali Cartel. And revealing as well! In the process, youll see why the drug war is so utterly corrupt and why there are people who have a vested interest in seeing that it continues. However, he would make a fatal mistake, and season 2 deals with the aftermath of it: The murder of Camarena, and how the DEA responded to it. The four-part series, released in July, tells the true story of Enrique "Kiki" Camarena, a special agent with the DEA, who was kidnapped, tortured and murdered in Guadalajara, Mexico in 1985. Tuesday, October 26, 2021. Shortly before Caro Quintero's arrest Friday, U.S. Where is Kiki Camarena son now? What's the real story of the death of Kiki Camarena? The foundation is a non-profit that is aimed to help youth who suffer from any kind of drug abuse. In the first episodes of Narcos: Mexico, Kiki Camarena (played by Michael Pena) and Felix Gallardo (played by Diego Luna) are juxtaposed as twin protagonists: One trying to solidify the drug trade and the other trying to stop it in an era when the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was still an underappreciated agency headquartered over a strip club. in order to understand why the drug war continues today, they had to trace . In 1987, Mr. Hornberger left the practice of law to become director of programs at the Foundation for Economic Education. Would you say something to Agent Camarenas widow? And Im going to be serving my county, serving this community in a different way., Camarena, much like his father, is a peoples person. "There is no hiding place for anyone who kidnaps, tortures, and murders American law enforcement. As he lay dying, a cartel doctor was ordered to keep him alert by administering drugs.. This is the first interview that Flix Gallardo has granted during his sentence. And if the cop or the judge happen to be U.S. federal agents or a federal judge, youre going to have the full force of the U.S. government being brought to bear on you. She later became a clerk in the Calexico Municipal Court, but eventually took the job of a skin-care consultant, which she continued till retiring. But I knew, she shares. However, she grew up in Calexico. Mika, who serves as the president of the organization, often took part in talks about drug awareness in schools and communities nationwide despite her longtime job as a skin-care consultant. He was about to expose the operation when he was kidnapped on February 7 while he went to have lunch with his wife, Mika. He discovered why there were people who deemed it necessary to kidnap and torture Camarena rather than simply kill him. Dora Camarena Soto was born in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, and had moved with her family to Mexicali when she was just 7 days old. Alyssa Diaz and Mika Camarena attend the Netflix Original Series Narcos: Mexico, special screening at LA Live in Los Angeles, CA on November 14, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. According to The San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper, after his death, she formed the Enrique S. Camarena Foundation in 2004 with the help of retired DEA agents and her oldest son, Enrique, a deputy district attorney working in the South Bay. I think of my grandchildren. In reality, Kiki Camarena died in 1985, having been abducted by unidentified men in February 1985 while he was on his way to his wife Mika for lunch. Camarena and the DEA's investigation into Caro Quintero and the Guadalajara Cartel in the mid-80s was detailed in the hit Netflix show "Narcos: Mexico.". The DEA assigned the case to a special agent named Hector Berrellez,a highly decorated DEA special agent who plays the central role in The Last Narc. There doesn't exist a czar, there's never existed such thing. Moreover, the DEA even went so far as to orchestrate the kidnapping in Mexico of a Mexican doctor who was alleged to have assisted with Camarenas torture. Youve learned a lot from people in this job. It was a very big question, because it took me five years to meet him. education: Calexico High School, Imperial Valley College, (Activist, wife of late DEA agent Kiki Camarena), https://clintonschoolphotography.com/p648939638/h264DCF62#h264dcf62, https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-diane-bell-talks-geneva-camarena-2010mar14-htmlstory.html, https://www.parkerpioneer.net/news/article_2af418d4-78d5-11e5-83be-4753208428fd.html, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gB9mvitPafk, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MncfXSZZNtE. All three series tell the story of Kiki Camarena, a 37-year-old DEA agent assigned to work in Mexico during the 1980s. Caro Quintero, who's believed to be between 59 and 69, served 28 years of a 40-year sentence in Mexico for the grisly killing of DEA agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena before being fre All three series tell the story of Kiki Camarena, a 37-year-old DEA agent assigned to work in Mexico during the 1980s. In 1985, Camarena was kidnapped in Guadalajara, allegedly on orders from Caro Quintero. Are you asking me why I am granting you the interview? 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. I believe in Sonora, in general, there could be calm, and yes, relief for us, because I believe the disappearances will diminish, said Cecilia Duarte, an activist with a team of volunteer searchers in Sonora who look for the clandestine graves of the disappeared. Whats the true story? NBC 7's Rory Devine has more. It appears that Kikis children have made new lives for themselves, but they continue to remember the heroics of their father, that perhaps changed the course of history itself. I'm not aware why they've linked me to that crime. A family photo featuring their three sons -- Enrique, Daniel, and Eric. My life expectancy is very low, as you can see. Mika Camarena serves as the President of the foundation, whereas her son, Enrique Kiki Camarena Jr., serves as the Vice President of Civic and Business Affairs. Flix Gallardo: I've never thought about escaping. DEA My family is digging a grave so that I may be buried next to a tree. Flix Gallardo: I dedicated myself to agriculture and livestock since I was a child. I received a plastic bag over my head to suffocate me. The proceeds from the sales are used to sponsor six scholarships to high school students throughout the nation each year. She should feel relieved that the culprits are serving time. They removed eight hernias. Camarena earned a BA from the prestigious Dartmouth College before securing his JD from the University of Southern California, Gould School of Law. Kiki and his wife Mika are pictured here on their wedding day. Camarena was also the father of three sons. In February 1985 Camarena was kidnapped by drug traffickers hired by Mexican politicians in Guadalajara, Mexico.He was interrogated under torture and murdered. Kiki gave his life in the fight against drugs, and the public wanted to do something to remember the ultimate sacrifice that he paid. Have you ever thought of escaping? She graduated from Imperial Valley . It was an afternoon, at the beginning of August, and he was coming from the prisons medical ward. During his acceptance speech, he thanked everyone who had been part of the learning process, making him the person he is now. This is a United States Government, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) website. The foundations major goal is to make the country free of illegal drugs. The money goes toward scholarships. He was on his way to meet his wife, Geneva "Mika" Camarena who was his high school sweetheart for lunch. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. 4. The Murder Of DEA agent Kiki Camarena Part 1. In later years, some have argued that Mexican operatives working for the CIA were involved in Kiki Camarenas death, according to El Pais. That doctor was a real person although he denies involvement. How do you see the situation of violence in the country? However, she grew up in Calexico. But he told NBC 7 after the ceremony that now his job is to think more like a judge than a prosecutor. The impact Kikis death has had on the drug war, and by extension, the entire world is undeniable. Each year we issue six scholarships to high school seniors throughout the nation. Getty Don Neto is a key character in Narcos: Mexico. After serving in the Marines, he worked as a fireman for the City of Calexico and attended Imperial Valley College, where he earned an associates degree. His boys were 11 (Enrique), 6 (Erik), and 4 (Daniel) at the time of his passing . He saw the possibility and the signs of an empire being builtthis narcotics empireand he wanted to put an end to it because he saw what it could possibly become.. This thing, with the bacteria [Covid-19] has severely affected Mexicans' purchasing power, but this man is of goodwill and I hope God will help him. I think the knowledge of the danger was always there. He would spend four years pursuing the cartel and sharing intel with the DEA much of which was dramatized on the Netflix show, Narcos but his life came to an untimely end when he was kidnapped, tortured, and murdered. Why kidnap and torture him also? His wife, Geneva 'Mika' Camarena, lost her husband at the age of 36, when the two were in their prime, raising their family of three children. During her talks, she often mentions that Red Ribbon Week should be celebrated all year round to increase awareness about drugs. Watch The Last Narc to see why. Flix Gallardo: Since I havent made a mistake, I have nothing to repent. He was born and raised in Laredo, Texas, and received his B.A. This Mr. Camarena, whoever they were, whoever did it, the perpetrators and masterminds are behind bars; they've paid with their lives in prison, and they've had a very rough time. In season 2, an enraged DEA jacks up its efforts to dismantle the cartel and get cartel figures to prosecution, even going so far as abducting a doctor accused of being affiliated with the cartel and assisting in Camarenas death. Throughout the 1980s, the cartel controlled much of the drug trafficking in Mexico and the corridors along the Mexico-United . He was a Marine. Though she keeps a private Instagram account, her Facebook page has various updates of events from her life. Mika met Kiki Camarena in high school, and that is where the two fell in love. Enrique 'Kiki' Camarena, 37, was abducted, tortured and killed in 1985 while working with the DEA in Mexico . He is also a judge for the Superior Court of San Diego County. Enrique Camarena Jr. was just 11 when his father was killed by cartel members. The agents now have better protection. The show, in both seasons 1 and 2, traces the growth of the drug trade, moving the series setting from Colombia to Guadalajara, Mexico. So if we werent welcome here in Mexico that wouldnt happen.. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. Netflix Michael Pea as Enrique "Kiki" Camarena in 'Narcos: Mexico.'. According to The San Diego Union Tribune, the couple met at Calexico High School in Calexico, California, and became high-school sweethearts. He was on the FBIs most wanted list, with a $20 million reward for his capture through the State Departments Narcotics Rewards Program. Stop adding to the list! Caro Quintero was from Badiraguato, Sinaloa, the same area as Joaquin El Chapo Guzman, the former Sinaloa cartel leader now serving a life sentence in the United States. Biography [] Early life []. He was also a veteran, having joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 1968, according to a DEA biography of him. After retiring, she now dedicates all her time to the organization and works together with schools and the law enforcement department to raise awareness about drugs among youths and their parents. Camarena was survived by his widow, Geneva (also known as Mika), and their three children. We are deeply grateful to Mexican authorities for their capture and arrest . You may have seen his story memorialized on the first season o. 1985-1990#KikiCamarena #Mexico #DrugCartelFor Educational Purposes. Following Camarena's murder, 37-year-old Mika moved back to California with her three sons. 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