The U.S. State Department has placed a $5 million bounty for anybody who can help capture and convict a Mexican drug kingpin, Rafael Caro Quintero, who was freed from jail.
Caro Quintero is considered a fugitive by U.S. authorities. He was indicted by the U.S. attorney’s office for the Central District of California on multiple felony charges — most notably, murder charges for the slaying of a Drug Enforcement Administration agent, The Associated Press reported.
The State Department said on Tuesday that Caro Quintero kidnapped and tortured DEA agent Enrique Camarena in 1985, before finally killing him. Caro Quintero was released from a Mexico prison in August, after serving only 28 years of a 40-year sentence, AP reported.
A federal appeals court in Mexico overturned his sentence, citing a procedural error in the trial and saying his case should have instead been heard in state court, not federal.
The State Department is offering the bounty for information leading to his capture, arrest and conviction.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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