Amazon has made a four-part docuseries about Kikis death, Hectors investigation, and the truth of what happened on that February day. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 8, 2021. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-07-07-mn-149-story.html, Informant Puts CIA at Ranch of Agents Killer, ByHENRY WEINSTEIN JULY 5, 1990 12 AM TIMES STAFF WRITER. Just as insightful as the tv series, but more insightful on the investigator Hector Berrellez and what happened to him after he was hung out to dry! But many former DFS agents remain active, especially in the Mexico City police department. The mystery was how they got away with it. Berrellez was a career DEA man by the time he was handed the case. DEA Agent Hector Berrellez Interview (Valuetainment Clips) Podcastn Out 52.5K subscribers Subscribe 4.9K views 2 years ago #Narcos #HectorBerrellez #KikiCamarena The highest decorated DEA. It hasnt yet killed me, but it has debilitated me, seeping up and into my roots, poisoning me but keeping me alive. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. It is insidious and widespread. Variety and the Flying V logos are trademarks of Variety Media, LLC. Reading this book has put a lot into perspective for me. He started the security firm with his friend and former law enforcement official, Brandon Pender. enforcement. On November 2, Proceso followed up with a story drawing from a public event in which other former DEA agents confirmed the connections between the CIA and members of the cartel but denied assertions the agency was involved in Camarena's murder. "According to the Drug Enforcement Agency (sic), 'SETCO Aviation is a corporation formed by American businessmen who are dealing with Matta and are smuggling narcotics into the United States.'". Enhanced typesetting improvements offer faster reading with less eye strain and beautiful page layouts, even at larger font sizes. Basically, justice is just that, a word. I wasted my time and exposed myself to all that danger., The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images. Its content is not necessarily a reflection of the positions of the IDRC. In January of 1989, Hector was chosen to lead Operation Leyenda. The undated file photo distributed by the Mexican government shows Rafael Caro-Quintero. DEA Agent Hector Berrellez On Getting Revenge For Kiki Camarena It conveys the impression that you are actually there. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Celine Dions Siblings: See All Her Brothers, Sisters, Other Family Members, Marguerite Belafonte: Life And Death Of The Actress, Marriage To Harry Belafonte, Other Facts, Top 9 Strongest Naruto Characters That Have Defined The Anime, Alia Rose Teena Maries Daughter Is Also A Singer: 10 Unknown Facts, Who Is Ralph Pittman? It counts among other with the testimonies of former DEA Hctor Berellez that led the investigation of Camarena's murder in operation Leyenda; Phil Jordan, former DEA Intelligence Director; Mike Holm, DEA resident agent in charge in Guadalajara when Camarena got kidnapped; and Manny Medrano, former assistant US Attorney and Lead Prosecutor in Camarena case. According to the most complete account of his life in Julie Marie Brunck and Michael Ross Fowler's "Bribes, Bullets, and Intimidation: Drug Trafficking and the Law in Central America," Matta Ballesteros worked his way from petty street thief in Tegucigalpa to contraband and drug trader. I feel like Berrellez is telling the truth whether his helper writers get it right or not. 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. 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. I feel like we were all betrayed, he told The Post, referring to himself and his informants. DEA Agent Hector Berrellez: $8 Billion never seized from Drug Lord who Killed DEA Agent Enrique KIKI Camarena. Watch the series. This story has been shared 152,008 times. Hectors the CEO, and the firm looks to be secretive enough not to have a prominent online presence. His killers were allegedly Mexican cartels and CIA agents. Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2022. Age: 76 years old The Justice Department reportedly started re-examining the case in 2019, two years after a federal court tossed convictions against two suspects. This would lead to his becoming a highly decorated American Drug Enforcement Agent who served as a DEA Supervisor and Special Agent for 30 years until his retirement in 1996. However, his name was listed in the lawsuit of DEA agent James Kuykendall in his sue against Amazon studios for defamation of name in The Last Narc. Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at. The FBI office at the U.S. Embassy here cabled strong protests, calling Nazar Haro an "essential contact for CIA station Mexico City.". No regrets. The DEA and Camarena had been utilizing a series of wiretaps to make sizeable drug busts inside Mexico. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Greed is the catalyst of evil. We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. After I watched Amazon's prime video regarding Hector's story, I bought the book. 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. The research presented in this article is, in part, the result of a project funded by Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC). The killing was a result of Camerenas investigation that led to the Mexican Army destroying a marijuana plantation worth billions and he was also close to exposing that the CIA was working with the cartels. However, what the decorated agent has been able to do, is make a good life for himself, where he can follow his passion and practice his crafts in a private capacity. Market data provided by Factset. All rights reserved. In the end, Berrellezs investigation led to no indictments. Please support our mission investigating organized crime. 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. 10 Facts To Know About Dr. Michelle Oakleys Daughter. 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. Now retired from the DEA, Berrellez sounds disillusioned about his investigation for the DEA. [1][3], The Last Narc was produced by Eli Holzmann and Aaron Saidman. They allegedly held him in a house filled with spectators and depraved participants, including Joaquin El Chapo Guzman, then a foot soldier in the syndicate. The U.S. has placed him on the FBI's Most Wanted Fugitives list. Reading this book has put a lot into perspective for me. Or at least some of their contract workers were there. SOURCE: [Page: H2955] INTELLIGENCE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 1999 (House of Representatives - May 07, 1998) A Tangled Web: A History of CIA Complicity in Drug International Trafficking. After the bombshell discovery, you might be wondering where Hector is at present. He has similarities to DEA agent Hector Berrellez, a real member of Operation Leyenda. Untold Truth About Jess Brolin, James Brolins Son And Barbra Streisands Stepson? The most extensive database on organized crime in the Americas. Little by little, Hector Bellerez started to draw attention to himself when he led the arrest of several drug dealers. But when Berrellez took over the investigation in 1989, what he uncovered was a tangled web of treachery and deceit. One outlet reports that Hector revealed to them the series had been canceled by the CIA. "Obviously, they were there. - Tiller Russell , Film Director, THE LAST NARC Series on AMAZON, Hector was an old-school, dedicated and fearless lawman. All About Drew Sidoras Husband And Cheating Claims, Who Is Willow Oakley? Were not saying it looks like a total cover-up, but were not not saying that either. Fox News William La Jeunesse and Lee Ross contributed to this report. The fact that he lived to tell the tale is nothing short of miraculous. " Three former Mexican police officers who claimed to have once worked as security guards for cartel kingpins told USA Today they informed U.S. investigators that a DEA official and CIA operative were present at meetings where Camarenas abduction was being discussed. The Last Narc alleges that some US political operatives viewed Kiki as collateral damage in a larger mission to protect America against foreign enemies. The whole case stinks, and if you don't step away you'll stink, too, Hector told LA Weekly. Berrellez was a career DEA man by the time he was handed the case. Your own government killed Camarena. The details of what really happened to Kiki remain difficult to access even today, more than 30 years later. In July 2020, Amazon released a docuseries, a real story called The Last Narcabout the death of Kiki Camarena at the age of 37. The lawsuit claims that the defendants acted with actual malice when producing and distributing the show, citing that they knew the series portrayal of Kuykendall to be false. Page Flip is a new way to explore your books without losing your place. "Beginning in 1984, SETCO was the principal company used by the Contras to transport supplies and personnel to the FDN [Fuerza Democratica Nicaraguense, a Contra faction], carrying at least a million rounds of ammunition, food, uniforms, and other military supplies to the Contras from 1983 through 1985," the report says. To be sure, Matta Ballesteros was in Mexico since at least the early 1970s. Nicknamed The DEAs Elliot Ness, Hector Berrellez became a man who was bent on creating a society with less crime, especially as related to drugs and terrorism. The boom is a very good reading. [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. Please use a different way to share. Inducing. From Colombia, he made his way back to Honduras where despite the international warrant for his arrest, he enjoyed a very public life. Supervisor and Special Agent, with Buy this book. The Central Intelligence Agency trained Guatemalan guerrillas in the early 1980s at a ranch near Veracruz, Mexico, owned by drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, one of the murderers of U.S. drug agent Enrique Camarena, according to a Drug Enforcement Administration report made public in Los Angeles. As a hero, he dedicated his whole life trying to right the wrongs that he encountered. [5] In the series, Berrellez claims his efforts were shut down by his DEA bosses after he pieced together details about the CIAs cocaine and gun operation. Hector Berrellez Now: Where is the DEA Agent Today? Update [5] According to Berrellez, Camarena was killed because he was going to disclose these connections. Caro Quintero had billions of dollars stashed in secret bank accounts in Luxembourg and in Switzerland, former DEA agent Hector Berrellez told me in a telephone interview. (AP), LARA LOGAN CONFRONTS ALLEGED MEXICAN CARTEL DOCTOR ACCUSED OF TORTURING DEA AGENT.