The one in Luxembourg had $4 billion and the other one had even more.. At this point, nothing would surprise me.. I can go on and on with this. His body wasnt found for nearly a month. Impact of Illicit Fentanyl Felt on Both Sides of US-Mexico Border, InSight Crime Staff Cited as Experts by International Media, Media Looks to InSight Crime for Ecuador Knowledge, The Venezuela Organized Crime Observatory Continues to Be a Benchmark in the Region. Amazon has made a four-part docuseries about Kikis death, Hectors investigation, and the truth of what happened on that February day. Finally, after two days, his body gave out and a thug put Kiki out of his misery, cracking him across the skull with a steel rebar. He was taken off the case, assigned to a desk job in DC and told not to reach out to any of his sources. The author gives us a quick but good read a story on the various aspects of his career, our nation, our neighbor, and his personal journey. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. In separate interviews with the El Paso Times, Jordan and Berrellez said they went public because they only recently confirmed allegations of the CIA involvement in the Camarena murder. Caro Quintero had billions of dollars stashed in secret bank accounts in Luxembourg and in Switzerland, former DEA agent Hector Berrellez told me in a telephone interview. From Colombia, he made his way back to Honduras where despite the international warrant for his arrest, he enjoyed a very public life. But obviously, it doesnt look great when a docuseries claiming to reveal an ugly truth about the CIA suddenly becomes inaccessible. He maintains that the CIA functioned hand-in-glove with the cartel, allegedly using drug money to finance covert military operations, much like the Iran-Contra affair of the same era. / holy$$$$!" 30 Best Fuck You Songs For Very Difficult Moments. Mums the word.. These ebooks can only be redeemed by recipients in the US. He is famous for books such as The Last Narc: A Memoir by the DEAs Notorious Agent (2021), 2023 JukeBugs - A Property of GlassWorks Media. I wasted my time and exposed myself to all that danger., The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images. Your story resonates with me. Our work is costly and high risk. In the series, Berrellez claims his efforts were shut down by his DEA bosses after he pieced together details about the CIA's cocaine and gun operation. I hope you continue to write. According to Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) sources and documents, the Mexican drug-trafficking cartel that kidnapped, tortured and murdered DEA agent Enrique Camarena in the central city of Guadalajara in February 1985 operated until then with virtual impunity -- not only because it was in league with Mexico's powerful Federal Security Directorate (DFS), but because it believed its activities were secretly sanctioned by the CIA. Supervisor and Special Agent, with thirty years extensive experience in counter terrorism and narcotics enforcement. Please keep an eye on our site, as you'll be able to see all available options there! On Feb. 7, 1985, an undercover DEA agent named Enrique Kiki Camerena was abducted in plain sight in Guadalajara, Mexico. ", - Ed Heath, former Supervisor, DEA, Mexico, The truth about the 35 year-old murder of KIki Camarena had to be told. Amazon itself has not revealed whether the CIA had decided to cancel the series, or given any reason as to why the show is not currently available to stream. As former law enforcement officers, the two of them run SPI Group Inc. One day, Hector spread 10 photographs across his desk and called in the witnesses one at a time. Kikis death launched Operation Leyenda, the largest DEA homicide investigation ever. Actually taping Kiki, Phil Jordan, former director of the DEA's El Paso Intelligence Center, told Fox News in 2013. Hector and Brandons agency can also be contacted for executive protection. The 37-year-olds body was found dumped on a nearby ranch about a month later. 10 Facts To Know About Dr. Michelle Oakleys Daughter. [5] The agent, Hector Berrellez, states that the CIA agent Flix Ismael Rodrguez helped torture Camerena to learn what Camarena knew about US connections to Mexican cartels. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1990/07/05/cia-used-drug-ranch-in-training-report-says/e1de697c-9697-4f0c-a85a-fc5661f0afe7/, TRIAL IN CAMARENA CASE SHOWS DEA ANGER AT CIA. Who is Hector Berrellez Wife and Where is He Now? Please use a different way to share. As a government employee and a veteran myself. Market data provided by Factset. Legal Statement. "A 1983 Customs Investigative Report states that 'SETCO stands for Services Ejecutivos Turistas Commander and is headed by Juan Ramon Mata (sic) Ballesteros, a class I DEA Violator,'" the Kerry report states. The official trailer was also removed from the Amazon Prime Video page. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-07-07-mn-149-story.html, Informant Puts CIA at Ranch of Agents Killer, ByHENRY WEINSTEIN JULY 5, 1990 12 AM TIMES STAFF WRITER. However, what the decorated agent has been able to do, is make a good life for himself, where he can follow his passion and practice his crafts in a private capacity. However, when people went to start watching the first episode on release day, they were met with a message saying the title was currently unavailable. The U.S. government, he explained, was unable to seize the accounts because of the banking secrecy laws in those countries. However, the book is well written in the 1st person and whoever took on this part is skilled, that alone compelled me to stick with it. He survived gunfights, assassination attempts and a deep state conspiracy. As a government employee and a veteran myself. Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2020. The report -- which came from the so-called Kerry Committee Report, named for then Senator and now Secretary of State John Kerry who led the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's inquiry into US support for the Contras -- adds that other US agencies knew of SETCO's role in trafficking drugs. You had a bunch of drug lords sitting around, freebasing cocaine and torturing this guy, Tiller Russell, director of the new Amazon docuseries The Last Narc, told The Post. Amazing insight on not only the investigation, but also to the man conducting it! They allegedly held him in a house filled with spectators and depraved participants, including Joaquin El Chapo Guzman, then a foot soldier in the syndicate. Basically, justice is just that, a word. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period. They pressured Amazon to take it off because of national security. A year later he escaped from a Florida military holding facility and made his way back to Honduras where he began moving emeralds and drugs, among other illicit products. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 1, 2020, Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 17, 2021, The last narc amazing insight into the D.E.A in mexico, Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 28, 2021, Learn more how customers reviews work on Amazon. But when Berrellez took over the investigation in 1989, what he uncovered was a tangled web of treachery and deceit. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. [11] Amazon briefly removed the series from view, but later restored it. Spouse: NA Rodriguez, according to the independent counsel Lawrence Walsh's report on the Iran Contra affair, did not become a clandestine coordinator for Contra aid until 1985, well after Matta Ballesteros had begun working with the Guadalajara Cartel. Its good that Berrellez states early on that other people did some of the polishing and editing, because whoever did, know nothing about firearms. The Justice Department reportedly started re-examining the case in 2019, two years after a federal court tossed convictions against two suspects. At the time, as a Supervisor and Special Agent, he gained immense knowledge of counter-terrorism and narcotics enforcement. He said the accounts were listed under the alien name that Caro Quintero, a major drug trafficker and fugitive from U.S. justice, used to do business with Mexican banks. In the earliest years of his career, Bellerez served as a homicide cop. No regrets. I'm glad he was on our side. Variety and the Flying V logos are trademarks of Variety Media, LLC. [2], The docuseries shoots footage in the home where Camarena was tortured and murdered, now an elementary school. The series was released by Amazon in July 2020. Few informants ended up losing their lives but he was able to have about 200 informants ready to be led to the United States to give accounts as witnesses. ", Renaissance Literary & Talent in conjunction with the proprietor (September 15, 2020). "Director of Amazon's 'The Last Narc' had a gun pulled on him during filming", "Did the CIA Torture an Undercover DEA Agent for a Mexican Drug Cartel? SOURCE: [Page: H2955] INTELLIGENCE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 1999 (House of Representatives - May 07, 1998) A Tangled Web: A History of CIA Complicity in Drug International Trafficking. The mystery was how they got away with it. This story is 100% true and shocking in everything it states about the death of Kiki, and US justice. When he wrote he shot him twice in the stomach. The FBI office at the U.S. Embassy here cabled strong protests, calling Nazar Haro an "essential contact for CIA station Mexico City.". Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. As a result, Camarena was murdered because he had discovered, and was about to expose, the conspiracy. (AP), LARA LOGAN CONFRONTS ALLEGED MEXICAN CARTEL DOCTOR ACCUSED OF TORTURING DEA AGENT. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2022. On a cinematic and literary journey that started with Narcos: Mexico (Netflix) and O Plata O Plomo (by James Kuykendall) this is by far the most interesting, easy to read and "are you kidding me?! Bar Association Medal of Valor, the Federal Executive Board Chairman's Brief content visible, double tap to read full content. Hector Bellerez further made huge discoveries that led to the arrest of several drug lords in Mexico. Plumlee claimed he had flown Caro Quintero to Guatemala after the murder because, according to the former contractor, he was "protected" by the White House. Hector has kept his marital life private but in his career, he is currently a certified polygraph examiner and established an international investigation and executive security firm, SPI Group Inc. As a victim, he was betrayed by the very people who tasked him with fighting the societal evils that seem overwhelming. A ledger from the report shows the State Department paid $185,924.25 to SETCO between January and August of 1986, a year after Camarena was killed and Matta Ballesteros was a known suspect in the case. Discussion of the Netflix original series "Narcos" & "Narcos Mexico", https://www.forbes.com/sites/doliaestevez/2013/12/05/mexican-fugitive-kingpin-caro-quintero-stashed-billions-in-secret-overseas-accounts-former-dea-agent-claims, https://np.reddit.com/r/narcos/comments/gio6om/forbes_rafael_caro_quintero_the_first_billionaire/, U.S. Treasury Tracks Secret Bank Accounts of Top Mexican Kingpin, When Mexican drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero ordered the kidnapping, torture and assassination of DEA agent Enrique Camarena in 1985, he was the leader of a billion dollar criminal empire, according to a former DEA agent. Reading this book has put a lot into perspective for me. Testimony in Camarena murder blocked by judge Rafeedie, Witness Says Drug Lord Told of Contra Arms, ByHENRY WEINSTEINJULY 7, 1990 12 AMTIMES STAFF WRITER. For 30 days, American agents kicked down doors, said Russell. Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.Learn more how customers reviews work on Amazon. He has also been working with Brandon Pender, his long term friend, and business associate. DEA agent Hector Berrellez in The Last Narc. Eventually, prosecutors did obtain tapes of Camarena's torture and murder. The fact that he lived to tell the tale is nothing short of miraculous. " Actually conducting the interrogation. Your own government killed Camarena. The details of what really happened to Kiki remain difficult to access even today, more than 30 years later. A prosecution witness in the Enrique Camarena murder trial testified Friday in Los Angeles federal court that Mexican drug lord Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo told him that he believed his narcotics trafficking operation was safe because he was supplying arms to the Nicaraguan Contras. The 1996 retired DEA agent has also featured in The Last Narc series a true story that gives an insight into the death of Camarena. Mika Camarena, in an interview with USA Today, also said U.S. prosecutors and agents told her that they are investigating accounts allegedly tying the DEA official and CIA operative to her husbands death, but did not elaborate. He realized evil exists at the highest level of government. Or at least some of their contract workers were there. or redistributed. Heres all you need to know about his latest whereabouts. Hector Berrellez was the agent in charge of the investigation. From there he was flown to the US where the marshals officially arrested and charged him with the kidnapping and murder of Camarena. This story has been shared 152,008 times. During his trial, neither he nor his lawyers ever raised the CIA's possible connections to the cartel or the agency's possible role in the murder of Camarena. The boom is a very good reading. For more than 30 hours, Caro-Quintero and others interrogated Camarena and crushed his skull, jaw, nose and cheekbones with a tire iron. MEXICO CITY, JULY 15 -- The trial in Los Angeles of four men accused of involvement in the 1985 murder of a U.S. narcotics agent has brought to the surface years of resentment by Drug Enforcement Administration officials of the Central Intelligence Agency's long collaboration with a former Mexican secret police unit that was heavily involved in drug trafficking. Its not the first time the American intelligence assets have been accused of having a role in Camarenas demise. Nicknamed The DEAs Elliot Ness, Hector Berrellez became a man who was bent on creating a society with less crime, especially as related to drugs and terrorism. Word Wise helps you read harder books by explaining the most challenging words in the book. The Last Narc on Amazon Prime narrates the tale of how DEA agent Kiki Camarenas death exposed the conspiracy that extended from Mexicos drug cartels to the hallowed halls in Washington DC. Another witness warned Hector to stop digging. He received the Federal He spoke Spanish, had done extensive undercover work, and had even spoken with Kiki over the phone on numerous occasions. Drawing heavily from news accounts, they say in 1970 he was arrested in Dulles Airport with 25 kilos of cocaine. Hector Berellez lived his earliest years away from the media but attended the prestigious University of Phoenix and the University of Michoacan, Mexico for Bachelors and Doctorate respectively. I was glued. We don't have any information as to if/when "The Last Narc" will be available on Prime Video. The killing was a result of Camerenas investigation that led to the Mexican Army destroying a marijuana plantation worth billions and he was also close to exposing that the CIA was working with the cartels. What Shows Have Been Renewed or Canceled? He survived gunfights, assassination attempts and a deep state conspiracy. Prior to its release, the documentarys director, Tiller Russell was said to have made 14-year of research about the murder and would live in fear of his life. "The CIA was the source. As a hero, he dedicated his whole life trying to right the wrongs that he encountered. Hector was not close to a hero when he was a little boy as he grew up to become. As well as trafficking his goods, the airline moved shipments for the State Department and the CIA, according to a 1988 congressional report (pdf). But in 1846, a new wave of migration was coming from the East Americanos gives us a bit of interesting history that is relevant in the United States current internal friction (chapter Antepasado).