Age: 76 years old Actually conducting the interrogation. The whole case stinks, and if you don't step away you'll stink, too, Hector told LA Weekly. He is recognized as one of the most highest decorated Drug Enforcement Agent in the history of the bureau. As a hero, he dedicated his whole life trying to right the wrongs that he encountered. ^LS. Rafael Caro Quintero escaped in a SETCO plane, piloted by a CIA Pilot. Mexico has arrested one of El Chapo's sons, Ovidio, at a bitter cost. I was glued. 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.. However, when people went to start watching the first episode on release day, they were met with a message saying the title was currently unavailable. Now retired from the DEA, Berrellez sounds disillusioned about his investigation for the DEA. In January of 1989, Hector was chosen to lead Operation Leyenda. .orange-text-color {color: #FE971E;} Explore your book, then jump right back to where you left off with Page Flip. Berrellez retired in 1996. Basically, justice is just that, a word. Thirty-five years ago, it was not the same. The investigation remains open. enforcement. 4 stars because there are some small issues, like inconsistencies of the text with itself, typos and other. They broke his ribs, drilled a hole in his head and tortured him with a cattle prod. [11] Amazon briefly removed the series from view, but later restored it. Citizenship: Mexican No regrets. I'm glad he was on our side. On how he was able to bring a number of the alleged culprits, Bellerez had a budget of about $3 million with a team of 20 agents. 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. Hector Berrellez is a former D.E.A. Buy this book. Parents: NA The mystery was how they got away with it. Legal Statement. He was haunted by what he Hector is a hero, and a victim. There he was convicted to 40 years in prison. Good 1st person account. The U.S. government, he explained, was unable to seize the accounts because of the banking secrecy laws in those countries. Offers may be subject to change without notice. In January of 1989, Hector was chosen to lead Operation Leyenda. San Diego U.S. Attorney William Kennedy disclosed in 1982 that the CIA was trying to block the case against Nazar Haro on grounds that he was a vital intelligence source in Mexico and Central America. Last Updated on April 28, 2022 by Stephanie, Biography and Early Life of Hector Berrellez, Tracing His Career From The Time He Was a Homicide Cop, Hector Reportedly Had Better Sources Than CIA and Led One of the Largest Investigations in DEA History, His Involvement in The Camarenas Murder Has Been Recorded in a Documentary, The Last Narc. 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. Supervisor and Special Agent, with thirty years extensive experience in counter terrorism and narcotics enforcement. Please try again. On January 3, 1989, Special Agent Hector Berrellez was assigned to the case. Spouse: NA In 2013, Hector came forward, saying that he finally believed hed pieced together Kikis murder more completely. Also in the mix: corrupt Mexican politicians and, according to sources in the series, CIA agent Felix Rodriguez allegedly there to protect American interests in a tangled web of drugs, money and dirty politics. [1], The docuseries recounts the story of DEA Agent Kiki Camarena's investigation of Mexican cartel drug lords including Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo, Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo and Rafael Caro Quintero, his death at the hands of drug lords and the CIA, and the DEA relations that followed Camarena's death. Hector is a hero, and a victim. To be sure, Matta Ballesteros was in Mexico since at least the early 1970s. He was a natural fit for the investigation. 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. One of them cost Mexican drug lord Rafael Caro-Quintero $2.5 billion. 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. No regrets. 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. Drug lords dont blindfold; you know who they are, and you will not survive, he said. He has similarities to DEA agent Hector Berrellez, a real member of Operation Leyenda. He spoke Spanish, had done extensive undercover work, and had even spoken with Kiki over the phone on numerous occasions. Hector Berellez lived his earliest years away from the media but attended the prestigious University of Phoenix and the University of Michoacan, Mexico for Bachelors and Doctorate respectively. The report does not specify a date on which this occurred. Shortly thereafter he became the key bridge between the Guadalajara Cartel and the Medellin Cartel.He bought large tracts of land and set up companies in Honduras, among them SETCO. ", 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. Hector remained with the DEA until 1996. Watch the series. There are good cops out there; Hector is one of them. Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club thats right for you for free. The U.S. has placed him on the FBI's Most Wanted Fugitives list. Meet Sosie Bacon: The Newest Cast Member on Narcos: Mexico', 'How to Fix a Drug Scandal's Kris Foster Might Still Be in Legal Trouble. Unbeknownst to him, the "good guys" were never good. There was a problem loading your book clubs. [5] According to Berrellez, Camarena was killed because he was going to disclose these connections. Get fresh updates on organized crime from across the region delivered to your inbox. "The CIA was the source. Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2022. I wasted my time and exposed myself to all that danger., The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images. In a famous Inspector General's reporton alleged CIA ties to traffickers issued in 1998, for example, there is no mention of the Guadalajara Cartel, Caro Quintero or anything else related to the case. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. The boom is a very good reading. We then verify, write and edit, providing the tools to generate real impact. You had a bunch of drug lords sitting around, freebasing cocaine and torturing this guy, Tiller Russell, director of the new Amazon docuseries The Last Narc, told The Post. The more Kiki expressed ignorance, the worse the torture. As a victim, he was betrayed by the very people who tasked him with fighting the societal evils that seem overwhelming. This page is not available in other languages. As a result, Camarena was murdered because he had discovered, and was about to expose, the conspiracy. [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. Redemption links and eBooks cannot be resold. The Last Narc alleges that some US political operatives viewed Kiki as collateral damage in a larger mission to protect America against foreign enemies. This memoir is excellent!! The Proceso stories argue the CIA had a direct relationship to the Guadalajara Cartel via corrupt Mexican police, which appears, by all accounts, to be true. However, this is inconsistent with what's known about Felix Rodriguez's and Matta Ballesteros' histories. As you might expect, the conspiracy theories surrounding The Last Narcs suspicious unavailability quickly began swirling online. The world needs more people like you. He would be reportedly tortured for about 30 hours and brutally killed in Mexico. The details were sketchy -- reports of a CIA asset recording the torture session came via Mexican informants, for instance -- but the sources were strong. He knew they were bringing in tons of cocaine, but he did not know that the CIA was involved, said Berrellez. But, as Berrellez says in the documentary, a supposedly very high-up CIA official told him all this stuff about the CIA bringing in drugs and the CIA being complicit in Kikis murder that you allege and to keep quiet about it. Your story resonates with me. [3][6], The series features interviews with real persons involved in Camarena's life and death. "Back in the middle 1980s, the DFS, their main role was to protect the drug lords," former DEA agent Hector Berrellez, who led the investigation into Camarena's murder, told Fox News in 2013. 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. It hasnt yet killed me, but it has debilitated me, seeping up and into my roots, poisoning me but keeping me alive. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. Nor do they memorialize their interrogations: That is CIA methodology.. 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. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. We as a society can stop it if we join together, United. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, Untold Truth About Jess Brolin, James Brolins Son And Barbra Streisands Stepson? Please try again. It looks like WhatsApp is not installed on your phone. The Last Narc is a docuseries about the 1985 death of U.S. DEA agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. [5][3] Russell has kept his location a secret, fearing for his safety. The 42-year-old had been at the agency for ten years, spoke Spanish, had an immense undercover experience and had even interacted with Camarena over the phone. We go into the field to interview, report and investigate. MEXICO CITY, JULY 15 -- The trial in Los Angeles of four men accused of involvement in the 1985 murder of a U.S. narcotics agent has brought to the surface years of resentment by Drug Enforcement Administration officials of the Central Intelligence Agency's long collaboration with a former Mexican secret police unit that was heavily involved in drug trafficking. They pressured Amazon to take it off because of national security. .orange-text-color {color: #FE971E;} Discover additional details about the events, people, and places in your book, with Wikipedia integration. Little by little, Hector Bellerez started to draw attention to himself when he led the arrest of several drug dealers. The lawsuit states that the series hinges on a lurid conspiracy narrative that purports Central Intelligence Agency agents and other U.S. officials secretly conspired with the cartel to traffic drugs into the United States so that the proceeds could be used to fund the Contras then fighting the Communist regime in Nicaragua. We want to sustain Latin Americas largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources. Camarena by drug traffickers in Guadalajara, Mexico in which Hector But there was one proof, it ended up becoming one of the biggest investigations in the history of DEA. Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2022. As the Netflix show readies itself for another season in 2020, the former director of DEA's powerful El Paso Intelligence Center in Texas, Phil Jordan, and retired DEA agent Hector Berrellez spoke exclusively to MEA World Wide (MEAWW) and disclosed how the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was directly involved in Camerana's brutal killing. He investigated a fellow agents murder and uncovered more than he bargained for. 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. One of the officers, George Godoy, said he spoke to DEA officials about the killing in April 2019 and that the U.S. government has given him and the other cops immunity in exchange for their accounts. At the offset, he stated that he did not believe in conspiracy theories and went on to paint a picture where Kiki was investigating CIA contract pilots around the time of his death. Rodriguez has denied any involvement and claims that the allegations against him are the result of a Cuban intelligence disinformation campaign. The 42-year-old had been at the agency for ten years, spoke Spanish, had an immense undercover experience and had even interacted with Camarena over the phone. [7], The Daily Beast reviewed The Last Narc favorably, calling it a "a wide-ranging expose about the entangled relationship between the CIA, the Mexican government, the DFS (Mexicos secret police, created by the CIA) and the cartels. Very interesting read! I went through an array of emotions while reading it. The former DEA agent received training as a combat and field medic at the time of the Vietnam war that lasted from 1955 to 1975. Informants told Berrellez that Kiki was stripped to his jockey shorts, blindfolded and subjected to torture-filled interrogations that were captured on audiotape. The court overturned this decision in early November,and authorities are searching for Caro Quintero anew. [2] Camarena earned further enemies by discovering that the CIA was working with the cartels to fund anti-communist Contras in Nicaragua. 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And is credited for his handling and solving of the Hector Berrellez is the DEA agent featured in 'The Last Narc'. Legal Statement. 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. A former homicide cop, he'd joined the DEA more than a decade earlier as a prized recruit, a thrill-seeker and trained investigator who spoke Spanish without a. 2023 Variety Media, LLC. This may sound dramatic but if you pay attention to the nuances of Berrellez writing one may understand why. Greed is the catalyst of evil. The four-part series, released in July, tells the true story of Enrique Kiki Camarena, a special agent with the DEA, who was kidnapped, tortured and murdered in Guadalajara, Mexico in 1985. From Colombia, he made his way back to Honduras where despite the international warrant for his arrest, he enjoyed a very public life. Please support our mission investigating organized crime. The AK 47 uses 30 round magazines. It conveys the impression that you are actually there. In the story, an account of the involvement of Bellerez was exposed, as well as those of the widowed wife of Camerena, Mika Camarena, and people involved in the life and death of the former DEA agent. Contains real page numbers based on the print edition (ISBN 1950369323). 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 April 1988, Honduran army officials along with US Marshals picked him up after his morning jog, then bundled him into an airplane and took him to the Dominican Republic. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-07-05-mn-131-story.html, On Feb. 9, according to the report, Harrison told DEA agents Hector Berrellez and Wayne Schmidt that the CIA used Mexico's Federal Security Directorate, or DFS, "as a cover, in the event any questions were raised as to who was running the training operation. Also watch the last narc on prime, both are really good. The level of corruption he discovers in both Mexico and the US is shocking. Reviewed in the United States on October 2, 2021. [5] The CIA has denied any involvement in Camarena's death. Amazing insight on not only the investigation, but also to the man conducting it! kidnap, torture and murder of undercover DEA Agent Enrique "Kiki" A look at the publicly available documents shows that the US worked closely with at least one member of the cartel, but that it was not the infamous Mexican intellectual author of the murder. One outlet reports that Hector revealed to them the series had been canceled by the CIA. When he passed out, a cartel-connected physician injected his heart with reviving pharmaceuticals. As a victim, he was betrayed by the very people who tasked him with fighting the societal evils that seem overwhelming. Copyright 2023 Distractify. 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. The ideas, thoughts and opinions contained in this document are those of the author or authors. Then a little further on whoever wrote this said his supervisor asked him why he shot the guy ten times. There is too many ghosts behind me, Godoy told USA Today. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! He was retired CIA. By September 1989, he learned from witnesses of CIA involvement. Thank you Mr. Berrellez for having the courage to share your story and speaking your truth. After I watched Amazon's prime video regarding Hector's story, I bought the book. [9][10], On December 21, 2020 James Kuykendall, former chief of a DEA field office in Mexico, sued Amazon and the makers of the documentary for falsely claiming he was complicit in the murder of Kiki Camarena. We are sorry. Your story resonates with me. 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But he talked to guys who hand-delivered the drugs., The Last Narc chronicles Berrellezs investigation. So, conspiracy theories aside, the record shows an indirect connection between the CIA and the Guadalajara Cartel via Matta Ballesteros and possibly a more direct connection via the Mexican police. As well as trafficking his goods, the airline moved shipments for the State Department and the CIA, according to a 1988 congressional report (pdf). Enjoy a great reading experience when you borrow the Kindle edition of this book with your Kindle Unlimited membership. 7 Shocking Facts About GigaChad, Chantal Cadieux: 10 Unknown Facts About Jean-Marc Valle's Ex-wife. By the early 1980s, the DFS also had gained a reputation as practically a full-time partner of the Mexican drug lords. Our work is costly and high risk. He said the accounts were listed under the alien name that Caro Quintero, a major drug trafficker and fugitive from U.S. justice, used to do business with Mexican banks. In fact, his peers bullied him till his father had enough and urged him to learn the art of fighting. Amazon has encountered an error. From there, the trafficker made his way to Costa Rica where he was captured and sent back to Mexico. I want the truth to be out, Mika Camarena, Enriques widow, told the outlet. Anyone wanting the real story about Kikis murder should read this. This story has been shared 152,008 times. He survived gunfights, assassination attempts and a deep state conspiracy. Unknown Details And Net Worth Of Lewis Hamiltons Brother, Who Are Lewis Hamiltons Parents? Berrellez was a career DEA man by the time he was handed the case. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1990/07/16/trial-in-camarena-case-shows-dea-anger-at-cia/e91baa2d-7231-47c3-94f4-30196209ecd0/, The Last Narc has been canceled? I couldnt set this book down. He ended up finding out much more than he bargained for. The agent, Hector Berrellez, states that the CIA agent Flix Ismael Rodrguezhelped torture Camerena to learn what Camarena knew about US connections to Mexican cartels. The more you read about US agencies, the more you will be glad you don't live there.. Got this book after watching the Amazon Prime docu-series of the same name. Kikis death launched Operation Leyenda, the largest DEA homicide investigation ever. The 1996 retired DEA agent has also featured in The Last Narc series a true story that gives an insight into the death of Camarena. I feel like we were all betrayed, he told The Post, referring to himself and his informants. Specifically, it says a CIA asset named Felix Rodriguez -- who famously claims to have presided over the capture and murder of Ernesto "Che" Guevara in Bolivia in 1967 -- brought Matta Ballesteros to Mexico and introduced him to the Guadalajara Cartel for the express purpose of moving cocaine to the United States to fund the Contras. On Kindle Scribe, you can add sticky notes to take handwritten notes in supported book formats. A prosecution witness in the Enrique Camarena murder trial testified Friday in Los Angeles federal court that Mexican drug lord Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo told him that he believed his narcotics trafficking operation was safe because he was supplying arms to the Nicaraguan Contras. Hector has kept his marital life private but in his career, he is currently a certified polygraph examiner and established an international investigation and executive security firm, SPI Group Inc. Hector Berrellez is one of the most decorated United States Drug Enforcement Agents of all time The 76 years old has a career as a book/screenwriter, technical advisor, and executive producer He helped in bringing to light the case of the murdered DEA agent Enrique Camarena and the alleged involvement of the CIA Although Quintero, Carrillo and others were arrested by Mexican authorities for their involvement by the time Berrellez began to investigate, he believed that it went deeper perhaps to the CIA. 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. Having been stationed for anti-terrorist security measures in US embassies in Central and South America, Hector has seen quite a bit of the world. "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. william costner southern california edison, deltacare usa fee schedule 2022, second baptist church las vegas live stream,