After cartels killed my husband, my family waited 40 years for justice. Thanks to Trump, it’s finally here

For astir 40 years, my household has carried an unbearable grief from the brutal execution of my husband, DEA Special Agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena. Kiki was a devoted father, a loving husband, and a dedicated DEA cause who gave his beingness to support American citizens from ruthless cause cartels. He believed successful justice, warring for what was right, and making the satellite safer for our children. But successful 1985, America mislaid a leader when Kiki was murdered in the astir gruesome mode imaginable.

In February of that year, Kiki was kidnapped by the Guadalajara Cartel. He was tortured for hours — beaten and burned with cigarettes. Rafael Caro Quintero and the different cartel captors refused to fto him gaffe into unconsciousness, injecting him with drugs to support him awake truthful helium would consciousness each ounce of their brutality.  

MEXICO EXTRADITES DOZENS OF CARTEL LEADERS AND MEMBERS TO US, INCLUDING DRUG LORD RAFAEL CARO QUINTERO

We held onto anticipation that helium would travel home. That anticipation was shattered erstwhile his assemblage was found, discarded arsenic though his beingness had meant nothing. But Kiki’s life—and his sacrifice—meant something, and it inactive does. And so, for 40 years, my household and I person fought to guarantee that his decease was not successful vain.

For excessively long, justness was retired of reach, due to the fact that Rafael Caro Quintero and different cartel members liable for Kiki’s execution operated with impunity. They built vast transgression empires, flooding U.S. streets with fentanyl and leaving devastation successful their wake. Cartels are convulsive organizations with nary respect for quality life. They nett from evil—through cause smuggling, quality trafficking, terrorizing innocents, and countless different horrific crimes. And yet, for decades, they person operated without facing the afloat value of U.S. law. 

It was successful July of 2022, aft years successful hiding, that Rafael Caro Quintero was finally captured in Mexico. Unfortunately, astatine that time, the U.S. authorities did not effort hard capable to marque him wage for his crimes. But erstwhile President Trump was re-elected, we erstwhile again had hope. We knew that he believed successful our cause, and we had religion that helium would support his committedness to clasp cartels liable for their heinous crimes.

On his archetypal time backmost successful office, President Trump courageously issued an executive order to designate Mexican cartels arsenic overseas violent organizations. This classification is much than a ineligible tool—it is simply a designation of the horrors these groups inflict connected Americans similar my husband. And adjacent more, it helps chopped disconnected financing to cartels and their enactment networks, due to the fact that the violent designation allows families similar excavation to question justness against them successful court. 

After Quintero was extradited to the United States earlier this month, my household and I filed a lawsuit against the antheral who murdered my husband. For the archetypal clip successful astir 4 decades, arsenic he awaits a criminal trial in the United States, we person anticipation that those liable for my husband’s decease volition genuinely beryllium held accountable.

I privation the cartels who killed my hubby to wage a terms for their crimes. But what astir the different families who person mislaid loved ones to cartel unit and are inactive waiting for justice? I’m speaking retired due to the fact that I privation to animate the different families to instrumentality enactment too.

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President Trump’s historical designation of respective Mexican cartels arsenic overseas violent organizations clears a way for galore families to prosecute justice, but not for all. More families similar mine, who have lost loved ones to cartel violence, would person the accidental to clasp the cartels accountable for their crimes if the medication would grow the overseas violent designation list. In particular, the Juárez and La Línea cartels, liable for the brutal massacre successful 2019 of 9 American citizens in LaMora, Mexico, including six children, are immoderate of the astir unsafe cartels successful Mexico and should beryllium the archetypal ones added.

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My fight—Kiki’s fight—does not extremity with Quintero’s apprehension oregon with this lawsuit. President Trump stands with us. His medication could adhd Juárez, La Línea, and different cartels to the violent designation database to support and bring justness to adjacent much Americans. We beryllium it to Kiki and to the thousands of different victims to grant the lives mislaid with actions that marque our state safer.

For 40 years, I person waited for justice. Now, I’m determined to guarantee that each American unfortunate of the cartels’ ruthless brutality and coercion tin get the justness they deserve.