I was glued. We as a society can stop it if we join together, United. [2][3], The documentary's director, Tiller Russell, researched Camarena's murder for 14 years, and then shot and edited The Last Narc for two years. Is The Last Narc canceled? There is, however, little documentation to back up the claims of CIA involvement and the statements of the sources are not all rock solid. Amazon has made a four-part docuseries about Kikis death, Hectors investigation, and the truth of what happened on that February day. In 1985, the colonial city was the base for most of the major narcotics traffickers. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, This story has been shared 396,071 times. The former DEA supervisor was born on September 27, 1946, in Tucson, Arizona in the United States of America but has his roots in Mexico. Due to its large file size, this book may take longer to download. As you might expect, the conspiracy theories surrounding The Last Narcs suspicious unavailability quickly began swirling online. He was recognized by By April 1994, Berrellez was removed from the. Now, Berrellez stated up front that he had help writing this, and I figure whoever helped him doesnt know anything about guns or the Armys distinction between commissioned officers and combat medics. The statute that established the CIA forbids it from carrying out law enforcement activities. By the late 1970s, after being released from jail, he had worked his way through the distribution chain and become a key operative of the Guadalajara Cartel. [2] Camarena earned further enemies by discovering that the CIA was working with the cartels to fund anti-communist Contras in Nicaragua. Specifically, the Show falsely claims that Plaintiff received bribes from the Cartel, that he was present at Cartel meetings where Camarenas kidnapping was planned, that he then aided and abetted the execution of that plan, and that he deliberately sabotaged the trial of one of Camarenas murderers by lying for the Cartel.. This story is 100% true and shocking in everything it states about the death of Kiki, and US justice. Further along the writer said he was an OCS graduate, while concurrently a combat medic. Then, the person writing for Berrellez states later on he went through two 60 round clips firing an AK 47. Children: NA Variety is a part of Penske Media Corporation. Hector Berrellez is a former D.E.A. Get fresh updates on organized crime from across the region delivered to your inbox. CONTRAS trained on Drug Lords Veracruz ranch. Enrique "Kiki" Camarena, the DEA agent murdered in Mexico in 1985. He realized evil exists at the highest level of government. When he was relieved with honor, he looked at the path of enforcing the law. 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. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2022. 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. Eventually, prosecutors did obtain tapes of Camarena's torture and murder. Contains real page numbers based on the print edition (ISBN 1950369323). [2], The docuseries shoots footage in the home where Camarena was tortured and murdered, now an elementary school. - Tiller Russell , Film Director, THE LAST NARC Series on AMAZON, Hector was an old-school, dedicated and fearless lawman. The series interviews DEA agents and witnesses to Camarena's death who state that he was murdered by Mexican drug lords, with the complicity of the CIA. The cartel had his body dug up by a crew of guys, including El Chapo, who specialized in such work and left Kiki where he could be found.. It is clear that the exact circumstances and details surrounding Kikis death have still not come to light, and after spending several years of his life, Hector hasnt managed to get to the bottom of it either. ", Harrison also said that "representatives of the DFS, which was the front for the training camp, were in fact acting in consort with major drug overlords to ensure a flow of narcotics through Mexico into the United States. He was tortured over a 30-hour period and then murdered. As a result, Camarena was murdered because he had discovered, and was about to expose, the conspiracy. On November 9, the magazine offered still more details, via an interview with Plumlee, of the alleged connections between the US spy agency and the Guadalajara Cartel's Rafael Caro Quintero, the convicted intellectual author of the Camarena murder. However, the cartel leader would later be released before the FBI would list him as a wanted man with a $20 million reward for his capture. The series alleges a corruption so deep that Mexicos then-president, Miguel de la Madrid, received kilos of cocaine as gifts from traffickers. 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. The official trailer was also removed from the Amazon Prime Video page. The investigation following Camarenas death resulted in numerous convictions of drug lords associated with the Guadalajara Cartel behind Camarenas death. How Will Ovidio's Arrest in Mexico Affect Sinaloa Cartel and the Fentanyl Trade? While all the emphasis is on Caro Quintero's and possibly the CIA's starring roles in Camarena's death, the real protagonist of this part of the story is the Honduran drug trafficker Matta Ballesteros and his company SETCO -- the only formally established links between the Guadalajara Cartel and the CIA. The Last Narc alleges that some US political operatives viewed Kiki as collateral damage in a larger mission to protect America against foreign enemies. Hector Berrellez is the DEA agent featured in 'The Last Narc'. And while the story is still percolating via Proceso, it has not picked up momentum in the United States for reasons that are clear: it is still thin. For a lawman, Berrellez has a colorful literary style, Arms like railroad ties shot out of his white tee, and a sense of humor to go with it probably more appreciated by lawmen or military. 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. The series showed those involved in the murder such as: See Also:Barbara Baekeland- Shocking Story Of Incest, Adultery, Murder- Everything To Know. All About Drew Sidoras Husband And Cheating Claims, Who Is Willow Oakley? The DEA and Camarena had been utilizing a series of wiretaps to make sizeable drug busts inside Mexico. Now retired from the DEA, Berrellez sounds disillusioned about his investigation for the DEA. I want the truth to be out, Mika Camarena, Enriques widow, told the outlet. In fact, his peers bullied him till his father had enough and urged him to learn the art of fighting. At the time, there was little the world knew about him until he joined the Drug Enforcement Administration as a Prized recruit. It is clear that hes led an exciting life. The money is used for black operations even Congress and the president are unaware of. Kiki ended up a sacrificial lamb led to the slaughter, said Russell. CIA took it off, Hector reportedly said. 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. Its good that Berrellez states early on that other people did some of the polishing and editing, because whoever did, know nothing about firearms. Interest inthe case revived in August whenMexican authorities released Caro Quintero from jail12 years before the end of his sentence. At the time, as a Supervisor and Special Agent, he gained immense knowledge of counter-terrorism and narcotics enforcement. Drug lords dont blindfold; you know who they are, and you will not survive, he said. [5] The CIA has denied any involvement in Camarena's death. I fell down a rabbit hole and ended up here, devouring every last punctuation mark of this look into the life of a Bad Ass. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com. "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? Testimony in Camarena murder blocked by judge Rafeedie, Witness Says Drug Lord Told of Contra Arms, ByHENRY WEINSTEINJULY 7, 1990 12 AMTIMES STAFF WRITER. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Ex-DEA agent Phil Jordan once headed the El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC); Hector Berrellez was a DEA supervisor on the case; and Tosh Plumlee was a former CIA contract pilot who worked with SETCO, a Honduran-based airline owned by Honduran drug trafficker Juan Ramon Matta Ballesteros. Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2020. The brutal murder forced the DEA to launch Operation Leyenda, and Hector Berrellez was put in charge of the investigation. [8] The newspaper writes that The Last Narc makes a convincing argument about Camarena's death: "In a blunt way, this work by Amazon also establishes something that has been ventilated before: the Sinaloa Cartel was a creation of the PRI regime through the DFS and the DFS, in turn, was a creation of the CIA. View agent, publicist, legal and company contact details on IMDbPro. Mums the word.. 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. Hector holds a BA and BS from the University of Phoenix, Arizona, and a Doctorate in International Law from the University of Michoacan, Mexico. There he was convicted to 40 years in prison. An investigation ensued but petered out until Berrellez signed on in 1989, spending four years and some $12 million much of which went toward buying information from snitches. [5] Also interviewed are employees and enforcers of the cartels who helped capture and torture Camarena, but later became witnesses for the DEA. 1996-2023, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates, The Last Narc: A Memoir by the DEA's Most Notorious Agent. The retired agent, Hector Berrellez, claims a former CIA agent participated in the torture of Camarena in order to find out what the agent knew about U.S. government connections to the drug cartels. Kennedy was subsequently fired by President Reagan. He was taken off the case, assigned to a desk job in DC and told not to reach out to any of his sources. Plumlee, for instance, says the man he flew to Guatemala did not identify himself. "[8], David Hathaway, a DEA agent who worked in South America alongside Phil Jordan and Mike Holm, endorsed the series. Each one of them pointed to the same man. Redemption links and eBooks cannot be resold. Spouse: NA The U.S. Justice Department is investigating explosive new allegations that a Central Intelligence Agency operative and Drug Enforcement Administration official played a role in the 1985 abduction, torture and murder of DEA agent Enrique Kiki Camarena, a report claims. "Obviously, they were there. The court overturned this decision in early November,and authorities are searching for Caro Quintero anew. In a separate interview last Sept. 11, Harrison told the same two DEA agents that CIA operations personnel had stayed at the home of Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo, one of Mexico's other major drug kingpins and an ally of Caro Quintero. [5] He said that after he asked Jorge Godoy one interview question, Godoy drew a pistol. As a victim, he was betrayed by the very people who tasked him with fighting the societal evils that seem overwhelming. Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2022. Meet Carmen Larbalestier And Anthony Hamilton, Maris Racal Has Forgiven Iigo Pascual - A Detailed Look At Her Love Life, Who Is Ernest Khalimov? 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. His story also inspired the Netflix drama series Narcos: Mexico.. Please try again. Please support our mission investigating organized crime. NOTORIOUS MEXICAN DRUG LORD ADDED TO FBIS MOST WANTED FUGITIVES LIST. When he wrote he shot him twice in the stomach. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. From there, the trafficker made his way to Costa Rica where he was captured and sent back to Mexico. I fell down a rabbit hole and ended up here, devouring every last punctuation mark of this look into the life of a Bad Ass. In February 1985, as Camarena left to meet his wife for lunch outside the U.S. consulate in Guadalajara, he was surrounded by officers from the DFS, a Mexican intelligence agency that no longer exists. I went through an array of emotions while reading it. A real eye opener,brilliant read five stars the truth is far from what you're made to think ,I fully recommend the last narc. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. "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. Hector was not close to a hero when he was a little boy as he grew up to become. Special Award. They pressured Amazon to take it off because of national security. Launched by the DEA after the gruesome 1985 abduction, torture and murder of DEA agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena by Mexican drug cartels, Leyenda was meant to find those responsible. Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2022. Actually conducting the interrogation. But when Berrellez took over the investigation in 1989, what he uncovered was a tangled web of treachery and deceit. As part of this far-fetched narrative, the Show falsely and despicably accuses Plaintiff Kuykendall of complicity in the murder of his close friend and fellow agent, the lawsuit read. We want to sustain Latin Americas largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources. 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.