Mexico's Kidnapping Treason Law Stems from Manhunt Following DEA Agent 'Kiki' Camarena's Torture & Murder

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat

The Mexican government says it is bringing charges against Joaquín Guzmán López, but not because he was one of the leaders in the Sinaloa drug cartel founded by his father, Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.

Instead, Mexican prosecutors are bringing charges against the younger Guzmán for allegedly kidnapping Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada in order to turn him over to US authorities when they landed in New Mexico.

Federal prosecutors issued a statement saying “an arrest warrant has been prepared” against the younger Guzmán for illegal flights, kidnapping, and illicit use of airports, with treason implicated as well. They cited the charge of treason “by those who illegally abduct a person in Mexico in order to hand them over to authorities of another country.”

The inclusion of that particular clause was apparently motivated by the 1990 abduction of a Mexican doctor wanted for allegedly participating in the 1985 torture and killing of DEA Agent Kiki Camarena. The Doctor had helped to keep Camarena alive while he was being tortured, ensuring his pain would continue longer.

Before Camarena’s kidnapping, torture and death, the DEA in Mexico destroyed millions of dollars’ worth of marijuana grown on farms for the Guadalajara Cartel.

Camarena, 37, who was known by the nickname “Kiki,” served in the U.S. Marine Corps before moving into law enforcement and becoming a DEA agent in 1975. He was kidnapped February 7, 1985.

Cartel enforcers took Camarena to a house on a street called Lope de Vega, where witnesses said they put him on a bed in a guest house at the rear of the property and interrogated him about raids on the cartel’s supplies and the informants who helped lead agents to the drugs. They blindfolded him and, between questions, beat and burned him.

In order to continue the torture and interrogation, the cartel members employed a doctor to use his medical skills to keep him alive during the torture and injected him with drugs to keep him responsive. Camarena died from the injuries sustained during his torture.

Mexican authorities provided audio recordings of parts of the interrogation to the CIA. The cartel buried his body in a Guadalajara park, then moved his body to a secluded ranch, where his remains were found. A manhunt by US authorities, primarily by the DEA and CIA ensued.

The U.S. government effectively closed the border with Mexico to pressure its reluctant Mexican counterparts. Prosecutors in Los Angeles brought a series of criminal cases accusing cartel operatives of taking part in Camarena’s kidnapping and murder.

Dr. Humberto Alvarez-Machain in 2020 following his depiction on the Netflix series Narcos: Mexico. 

The doctor that US authorities alleged to have used his medical training to keep Kiki alive during torture was Humberto Alvarez-Machain. Court records described Alvarez-Machain as being present at the house where Camarena-Salazar was held.

On April 2, 1990, Humberto Alvarez-Machain was forcibly kidnapped from his medical office in Guadalajara, México, to be flown to El Paso, Texas, where he was arrested by the DEA. Alvarez-Machain was a Mexican citizen. The Mexican government officially protested the kidnappings.

Alvarez-Machain v. United States of America records show that the DEA hired Garate-Bustamante, an informant to the administration and a Mexican national who then contacted businessman Ignacio Barragan to assist with apprehending Alvarez-Machain in Mexico.

In March of 1990, Barragan consulted with Sosa, a former Mexican policeman, to assist with the operation. Barragan told Sosa that the DEA had a warrant to arrest Alvarez-Machain, and would pay for anything they required to successfully operate and promised Sosa a Mexican government position if he cooperated.

Federal prosecutors tried him for the crime in 1992 but the case was ultimately dismissed for lack of evidence. According to the UN's reports on the matter, Alvarez-Machain allegedly conspired to commit, even though he may not have directly caused the death of the DEA agent in question. Before the District Court, Alvarez-Machin argued that the United States had no jurisdiction to apply and charge him with domestic laws for a crime that may or may not have allegedly been committed in Mexico.

Alvarez-Machain further argued that the court could not apply extraterritorial jurisdiction, the court denied this component of the motion. The District court focused more on the extradition matters rather than the criminal charges. As a result, Álvarez was repatriated to Mexico.

After that event, the Mexican government incorporated the crime of treason into its criminal code to act against anyone who 'kidnapped someone to deliver them to another country.' Currently, there are at least 15 causes for which a person can be accused of treason in Mexico.

Treason Defined in Mexico

The main definition of treason is by a person performing “acts against the independence, sovereignty or integrity of the Mexican Nation with the purpose of subjecting it to a foreign person, group or government,” and those instances when “a person is illegally deprived of his or her liberty in the national territory, to deliver him or her to the authorities of another country or to transfer him or her out of Mexico for such purpose.”

Mexican Federal Criminal Code Article 123.

In Mexico, being sentenced for such a crime precludes the possibility a pardon being issued by the government. Sentences can range from five to 40 years and a fine of up to 50,000 Mexican pesos ($2,633).

Shortly after the release of "El Mayo's" letter, Sinaloa state prosecutors were apparently trying to distance the state’s governor, Rubén Rocha, from being connected to the killing of a local political rival, Hector Cuén, who was at a meeting that was used to lure "El Mayo" Zambada to be abducted. Zambada said he expected the Governor to be at that meeting; Rocha said he made a trip to the United States that day and came home the following day after reports of the arrests of Mayo and Guzman as well as the death of Cuen.

To play down reports of the purported meeting, Sinaloa State Prosecutors published a video of an apparent shooting during what they claimed was a botched robbery and/or carjacking attempt at a Pemex gas station. They said Cuén was killed there, not at the meeting site, where Zambada said Cuén was murdered.

While federal prosecutors stopped short of saying the gas station video was a faked, or the FGR did reject the version of Cuen's death offered by Sinaloa authorities and continues to investigate.

Sources El Pais, Seattle Times, USA Today, UNODC, GOB.mx

Categories: El Mayo, guadalajara cartel, kiki camarena