Ernesto “Don Neto” Fonseca Carrillo, a founding figure in Mexico’s once-dominant Guadalajara Cartel and one of the men convicted in the brutal 1985 murder of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, has been released after completing his full sentence, a federal law enforcement official confirmed late Wednesday.
Fonseca, now 94 years old, had been serving the final years of his 40-year sentence under house arrest due to his age and declining health. He was moved from prison to home confinement in 2016 and was reportedly released quietly over the weekend, according to a U.S. federal agent who spoke on the condition of anonymity, as they were not authorized to publicly discuss the case.
The release marks the end of a dark and violent chapter in U.S.-Mexico drug enforcement history.
Fonseca Carrillo, alongside Rafael Caro Quintero and Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, was one of the key architects of the Guadalajara Cartel in the 1970s and 1980s. The group was considered Mexico’s most powerful drug trafficking syndicate at the time, responsible for coordinating massive shipments of marijuana and cocaine into the United States.
Their notoriety reached a new level in 1985 with the abduction, torture, and killing of DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena. Camarena had been instrumental in uncovering cartel activities, including a massive marijuana plantation in northern Mexico. His kidnapping sparked outrage in the U.S. and led to a diplomatic crisis between the two nations.
Fonseca was arrested in Puerto Vallarta in 1985, just months after Camarena’s murder, and was eventually sentenced to 40 years in prison. Though he long maintained his innocence in the agent’s murder, evidence presented in court linked him directly to the cartel’s retaliation against Camarena.
Rafael Caro Quintero, another key player in Camarena’s murder, was apprehended again in 2022 after years on the run and extradited to the United States in February 2025, along with 28 other cartel-linked figures.
Caro Quintero had been released from prison in 2013 on a legal technicality, sparking outrage in Washington. His recent extradition was seen as a major victory for U.S. drug enforcement agencies. It remains unclear whether similar efforts will be made to extradite Fonseca, particularly given his advanced age and deteriorating health.
As of now, the United States has not publicly indicated whether it will seek Fonseca’s extradition. Given his age and the fact that he has completed his sentence under Mexican law, legal avenues may be limited.
The DEA has not commented on his release, and Mexican authorities have also remained silent on the development.
Fonseca’s release has reignited public discussion around justice, accountability, and the enduring legacy of the drug war. For many, the wounds from Camarena’s death remain unhealed, and the quiet release of one of its perpetrators may be viewed as a failure to deliver lasting justice.
Enrique Camarena’s murder fundamentally changed U.S. drug policy and enforcement strategies in Mexico. The case inspired the 1988 formation of the DEA’s “Operation Leyenda,” the largest homicide investigation ever undertaken by the agency.
While Fonseca Carrillo now walks free, his release serves as a somber reminder of the violent roots of Mexico’s modern drug conflict—and the deep scars left behind on both sides of the border.
