Mexican drug lord convicted in murder of US agent freed

MEXICO CITY: Mexican drug lord Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo was freed from prison after serving a 40-year sentence for the murder of an undercover US agent, a Mexico justice system source said Wednesday.

Carrillo, known as "Don Neto," was convicted for the 1985 murder of Enrique "Kiki" Camarena, a US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent. The crime that strained US-Mexican relations at the time.

The 94-year-old had been under house arrest since 2017 due to his age and health problems.

A source in the Mexican federal justice system, who asked not to be identified because she was not authorized to comment, told AFP that Carrillo had completed his sentence, without providing further details.

Local media reported that his 40-year sentence ended on April 5.

Carrillo is the oldest of the three founders of the now-defunct Guadalajara drug cartel. They are considered the forefathers of modern drug trafficking in Mexico.

He was an associate of Rafael Caro Quintero, who Mexico handed over to the United States on February 27 along with 28 other high-profile criminals wanted by Washington.

Carrillo is listed on the DEA website as a "fugitive" for "kidnapping and murder of a federal agent."