Kash Patel’s FBI Takes On Cartel Kingpins—Eight Apprehended

FBI Director Kash Patel announced on Friday that eight Mexican nationals wanted for murder and drug-trafficking charges were taken into U.S. custody this week.

Among them were two individuals previously listed on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.

“The FBI and our partners will scour the ends of the earth to bring terrorists and cartel members to justice,” Patel stated.

“The era of harming Americans and walking free is over.”

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One of the most significant apprehensions was Rafael Caro Quintero, a former FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive accused of involvement in the 1985 kidnapping and murder of DEA Special Agent Enrique Camarena Salazar.

Today, @FBIDirectorKash announced that the United States has successfully apprehended Rafael Caro Quintero, the notorious cartel kingpin behind the brutal murder of DEA Agent Kiki Camarena.

Learn more: https://t.co/YATIlmGBtF pic.twitter.com/iOed6YAs8k

— FBI (@FBI) February 28, 2025

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According to the FBI, Quintero is considered one of the founding members of the Guadalajara Cartel in the late 1970s.

He was reportedly a key supplier of heroin, cocaine, and marijuana to the U.S. and oversaw cartel operations in Costa Rica, Mexico, and along the U.S. border.

The FBI’s San Antonio Field Office led the investigation, and Quintero will face charges in the Eastern District of New York.

The notorious Mexican drug boss who was wanted for 40 years appeared in federal court. Quintero is accused of orchestrating the killing of a DEA agent in 1985 in Mexico. @AaronKatersky has more. https://t.co/QgAX7wRgUQ pic.twitter.com/NMQCDWGV0g

— Good Morning America (@GMA) March 1, 2025

Another notable arrest was Alder Marin Sotelo, who faces homicide charges for the August 11, 2022, killing of Deputy Ned Byrd of the Wake County, North Carolina Sheriff’s Office.

Marin-Sotelo was indicted for first-degree murder on August 23, 2022.

The FBI Charlotte Field Office handled the investigation, and Marin-Sotelo will face federal weapons charges in the Middle District of North Carolina, as well as state murder charges in North Carolina State Court.

Also among those taken into custody was Jose Rodolfo Villareal-Hernández, known as “El Gato,” another former FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive.

According to authorities, he was responsible for orchestrating the murder-for-hire of a 43-year-old man on May 22, 2013, in Southlake, Texas.

Villareal-Hernández was a high-ranking member of the Beltran-Leyva Organization (BLO) Drug Cartel, allegedly overseeing large-scale cocaine imports into the U.S. while engaging in violent acts in Mexico and the U.S.

He was arrested on January 7, 2023, in Atizapán de Zaragoza, Mexico. The FBI’s Dallas Field Office investigated the case, and he will face charges in the Northern District of Texas for interstate stalking and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire.

Several other cartel members and drug traffickers were also taken into U.S. custody:

• Jose Angel Canobbio-Inzunza, also known as “Guerito,” was a key finance manager for the Sinaloa Cartel’s Los Chapitos faction. The FBI stated that he managed cartel finances, controlled an armed enforcement group, and handled corrupt relationships on behalf of the organization. He was arrested in Sinaloa by the Mexican Army. The FBI’s Washington and San Diego Field Offices investigated the case, and he will face narcotrafficking charges in the Northern District of Illinois.
• Rodolfo Lopez Ibarra faces drug-trafficking charges that could lead to life imprisonment in the District of Columbia. The FBI Washington Field Office handled the case.
  Andrew Clark, a Canadian citizen residing in Mexico, allegedly managed a transnational drug trafficking network that moved large quantities of cocaine from Colombia through Mexico and Southern California into the U.S. and Canada. The FBI Los Angeles Field Office investigated the case, and Clark will face charges in the Central District of California for four murders and one attempted murder.
• Luis Geraldo Méndez Estevane was a high-ranking lieutenant in the Barrio Azteca cartel and was responsible for the March 13, 2010, murder of two U.S. consulate employees in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and an El Paso County Sheriff’s Office detention officer. The FBI El Paso Field Office led the investigation, and Méndez will face federal charges in the Western District of Texas, including murder, racketeering, and drug conspiracy.
• Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, former leader of the Juarez Cartel, was taken into custody on narcotrafficking charges in the Eastern District of New York. He is accused of overseeing significant drug smuggling operations into the U.S. while perpetrating violence in Ciudad Juarez and El Paso. The FBI El Paso Field Office conducted the investigation.
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A spokeswoman for Patel told Breitbart News: “Under Kash’s leadership, the FBI is once again putting American safety first, ensuring that no criminal enterprise—no matter how powerful—can operate without consequences. The message is clear: Justice will be served, and the era of lawlessness is over.”

With these high-profile arrests, the FBI continues its efforts to dismantle cartel operations and bring fugitives involved in violent crimes and drug trafficking to justice.

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