14 die in helicopter crash amid an operation to capture Mexican drug lord
Mexico City, July 15 (EFE).- A Black Hawk helicopter crash in the Mexican coastal city of Los Mochis killed 14 people Friday, the navy said, amid an operation to arrest drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, who was on the US most wanted list.
The navy helicopter was allegedly part of the operation to capture the notorious drug lord in the northern mountainous region between the states of Sinaloa and Chihuahua.
However, the Mexican navy said there was no evidence to link the crash to the Friday capture of Caro Quintero, who allegedly killed a US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) agent in 1985.
According to the navy, the helicopter was carrying 15 passengers when it crashed near Los Mochis, Sinaloa.
Fourteen people were killed, and one was undergoing medical treatment.
The navy says it had launched an investigation to establish the reason for the crash.
The navy said it was “important to clarify that until now there is no information that the plane crash is related to the arrest of the alleged drug trafficker” since the media claimed that the plane was part of the operation to apprehend Caro Quintero.
Caro Quintero, one of the DEA’s most wanted fugitives, was arrested Friday in the same area.
According to the navy, a search dog named “Max” found him hiding in the bushes in the San Simon town during a joint operation by the navy and the Attorney General’s Office.
Caro Quintero, 69, was in the highlands near Sinaloa’s border with Chihuahua, Mexico’s northern border state.
He was released from a Mexican prison in 2013 after serving 28 years and had reportedly returned to drug trafficking, according to the navy.
The drug trafficker was wanted for the kidnapping and death of DEA agent Enrique Camarena in 1985, as well as other drug trafficking and organized crime-related offenses.
The Guadalajara Cartel’s founder was on the FBI’s most wanted list, with a $20 million bounty on his head.
The drug lord’s arrest comes only days after US President Joe Biden met with his Mexican counterpart, Andrés Manuel López Obrador. EFE
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