Free Republic

A Mexican drug kingpin who was depicted in Netflix’s gritty crime drama “Narcos” was hauled into Brooklyn court Friday — wearing the handcuffs that belonged to the DEA agent he was convicted of kidnapping, torturing and murdering in 1985. Rafael Caro Quintero, a founding member of the Guadalajara cartel, pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges in federal court in front of a packed room of more than 100 Drug Enforcement Administration agents and other members of law enforcement. The white-haired Quintero, 72, who wore tan pants and a blue and orange shirt, was brought into the courtroom with his...

MEXICAN DRUG TRAFFICKERS: A BYPRODUCT OF POOR BORDER SECURITY By Jim Kouri MichNews.com Dec 21, 2004 In the United States-Mexico experience, there are relevant lessons for countries engaged in cooperative counter narcotics efforts. The primary lesson learned is that the illegal drug market has metastasized at the cost of thousands of lost lives and billions of dollars. A second lesson is that bilateral and multilateral efforts are key in the crusade against drugs. The costs that the illegal drug trade imposes on the United States have been estimated at a staggering $70 billion each year. Mexican drug traffickers are the...