DEA Map of Juarez
Cartel operations
(This is DEA Background Information - 2/97)
Mexico's most powerful drug trafficker in recent years was Amado
Carrillo-Fuentes who died in a Mexican hospital in July 1997 after undergoing
extensive plastic surgery to change his appearance. In his final days Carrillo was being
tracked intensively by Mexican and US authorities. Carrillo allegedly had ties to Mexico's former
Commissioner of the INCD (National Institute to Combat Drugs), Gutierrez-Rebollo. His organized crime group, based
in Juarez, is associated with the Rodriguez-Orejuela organization and the Ochoa
brothers, from Medellin. Carrillo's organization is involved in
heroin and marijuana trafficking and handles large cocaine shipments from
Colombia. Their regional bases in Guadalajara, Hermosillo and Torreon serve as
storage locations where later the drugs are moved closer to the border for
eventual shipment into the United States.
The scope of the Carrillo-Fuentes'network is staggering; he reportedly forwarded
$20-30 million to Colombia for each major operation, and his illegal activities
generated tens of millions per week. He was a pioneer in the use of large
aircraft to transport cocaine from Colombia to Mexico and became known as 'Lord
of the Skies.' Carrillo-Fuentes owned a fleet of aircraft and had major
real estate holdings.
Like his Colombian counterparts, Carrillo-Fuentes was sophisticated in the use of
technology and counter surveillance methods. His network employed state of the
art communications devices to conduct business. His organization had become so
powerful he was even seeking to expand his markets into traditional Colombian
strongholds on the east coast of the
United States.
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