Sonora Cartel
| Founded | 1980 |
|---|---|
| Founded by | Miguel Caro Quintero, Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, Rafael Caro Quintero |
| Founding location | Mexico |
| Years active | 1980s−present |
| Territory | Hermosillo, Agua Prieta, Guadalajara, Culiacán, Durango, San Luis Potosí, Arizona, Texas, California, Nevada |
| Ethnicity | mostly Mexican |
| Criminal activities | Drug trafficking, money laundering, extortion, murder and arms trafficking |
| Allies | Colombian drug cartels, Guadalajara Cartel |
The Sonora Cartel, also known as Caro-Quintero Organization, was a Mexico based criminal cartel. Upon of the cartel's disintegration, its leaders were incorporated into the Tijuana Cartel and Sinaloa Cartel.
The Sonora Cartel, Colima Cartel and Milenio Cartel are now branches of the Sinaloa Cartel.
The Sonora Cartel was considered by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to be one of the oldest and best-established cartels. The cartel′s roots are in the Guadalajara Cartel, which dissolved after the 1989 arrest of its co-founder, Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo.
Rafael Caro Quintero, Miguel's brother, was in jail for his role in the killing of DEA Special Agent Enrique Camarena in 1985. The Sonora cartel had direct links to Colombian drug cartels and operated routes into California, Arizona, Texas and Nevada.
The Sonora cartel was headed by Miguel Caro Quintero and operated out of Hermosillo, Agua Prieta, Guadalajara and Culiacán, as well as the Mexican states of San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa and Sonora.
The Sonora Cartel was led by Miguel Caro-Quintero, brother to Guadalajara Cartel co-founder, Rafael Caro Quintero, who was arrested in Costa Rica in 1985 in connection with the torture and death of DEA Special Agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena Salazar. Miguel Caro-Quintero would eventually be arrested in 1989, however it is believed he still maintains control over the organization from behind bars.
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Wikipedia