U.S. Treasury freezes assets of common-law wife of Caro Quintero

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Mexican national Diana Espinoza Aguilar (a.k.a. Altagracia Espinoza Aguilar) as a Specially Designated Narcotics Trafficker pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act).

According to OFAC, Espinoza Aguilar acts for or on behalf of her reported common-law husband, Rafael Caro Quintero, by holding certain assets and conducting activities on his behalf.

Caro Quintero, a major Mexican narcotics trafficker, is a fugitive from U.S. justice and was also the mastermind of the murder of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) special agent Enrique Camarena in 1985.  As a result of today’s action, any assets that Diana Espinoza Aguilar may have under U.S. jurisdiction are frozen, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with her.

“Today’s designation of Diana Espinoza Aguilar demonstrates yet again that her reported common-law husband, fugitive drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, relies heavily on the support of his family members,” said John E. Smith, Acting OFAC Director.  “Treasury, in coordination with DEA, is committed to targeting Caro Quintero until he is brought to justice and his organization is dismantled.”

Diana Espinoza Aguilar has had links to drug trafficking activities for years. In 2008, she was arrested in Mexico with her then husband, a Colombian drug trafficker, and was charged with drug trafficking and money laundering-related offenses. Espinoza Aguilar was sentenced to prison and while incarcerated in Puente Grande prison in the Mexican state of Jalisco, she met Caro Quintero who was also incarcerated at the time. Espinoza Aguilar holds some of Caro Quintero’s assets under her name, which he obtained with drug proceeds.

Caro Quintero began his criminal career in the late 1970s when he co-founded the Guadalajara drug cartel and amassed an illicit fortune. He was convicted in Mexico for his involvement in Camarena’s murder and received a 40-year prison sentence.  While in prison, Caro Quintero maintained his relationships with Mexican drug trafficking organizations and used a network of family members and front persons to invest his illicit fortune into ostensibly legitimate companies and real estate projects in Guadalajara.  On August 9, 2013, Caro Quintero was released from a Mexican prison with 12 years remaining on his sentence. Caro Quintero has continued to engage in drug trafficking activities since his release.

Caro Quintero has been indicted in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on criminal charges related to the kidnapping and murder of Camarena as well as drug trafficking.  The United States government, led by DEA, is seeking Caro Quintero’s capture and extradition to face these charges.

DEA is offering a reward of up to US$5 million for information leading to his arrest and/or conviction.