WebEnrique " Kiki " Camarena Salazar (July 26, 1947 February 9, 1985) was an American intelligence officer for the United States (DEA). But when the Florida agents arrived in Colombia, another Bogot DEA agent told them that the informant was going to stay in prison. I believe, based on their representations, that that new evidence alone would put the corrupt agents in prison. During that 18 month period, there were 143 Colombian National Police Officers killed as a direct result of the manhunt for Escobar. Within a few short years, the Medelln Cartel that Escobar established was pulling in millions every day. Cali moved a lot of dope and sent more to the U.S.", It remains to be seen whether Newman will take liberty with both agents' timelines to also keep Holbrook onboard, but Murphy did have this to tease on a final note: "The agent who was there when the Cali Cartel was taken down, I think youll see him in season three.". Fesitl worked in Colombia for a total of 12 years. We need to make sure we get him out.' Bienvenidos en Espaol!
DEA Wikimedia CommonsAuthorities pose with Pablo Escobar just after this death. Narcoscontinues to walk the fine line between presenting its villains as characters who are addictive to watch, but who are not glorified. Special Agent James Terry Watson, As a result, the Florida agents decided to have the informants come to the United States with a sample of the acrylic, so they could walk DEAs chemists through the extraction process. There were no stipulations that he had to turn over any of his assets: He could have walked away a free man and never have had to work again. Escobar died Dec. 2, 1993, in a shootout with Colombian police and American DEA agents. The book alleges that DEA officers investigating Camarenas death knew that the drug agents murder was a joint operation between the drug cartel and the DFS, an agency with intimate ties to the CIA., Kuykendall said, The CIA didnt give a damn about anything but Cuba and the Soiets. There is much more to that phone conversation as to where and how we meet. Judy Moncada (Cristina Umana) was a major player in the alliance of enemies who formed to take down Escobar, until her own partners took her out. We sell bronze life-size busts of Kiki that are unveiled in schools and libraries throughout the country, not just in San Diego. ", "We went from Pinzon, who was basically an obstacle for us, toMartinez.
How Historically Accurate Is Javier Pena From 'Narcos'? The drug war is supposed to follow a very clear script: According to the official screenwriters, the U.S. justice system is pitted against corrupt players in foreign countries who are trying to flood American streets with illicit drugs. But both of Miguel's raids were wholly accurate. Chris ultimately becomes the DEA contact for informant Jorge Salcedo (Matias Varela), the head of security for the Cali cartel who risks his life to help the agents capture and fry their biggest fish, Miguel Rodriguez (Francisco Denis). When he surrendered, it was like we lost him. Obviously, that list is very, very short. He was a police officer, and then he became part of the DEA. "Thats a question and always a mystery thats been asked for a long time, is," he says. "Basically, our work here was done and it was time to go.". He also claimed that one of the targets of the FARC-related investigation was not involved in narco-trafficking even though the Bogot office had previously identified that individual as a narco-trafficker. Furthermore, being in prison gave Escobar protection from his enemies and allowed him to avoid a much-feared extradition to the U.S. As the two sides argued back and forth, the informant was challenged by the Bogot agents to prove his allegations, the memorandum states. Ambassador Michael "The only stipulation Javier and I have is: Whoever we do this with cannot in any way glorify Pablo Escobar and the Medellin Cartel," Murphy recalls telling showrunner Eric Newman during a dinner in Washington, D.C. "We just hit it off. After the Florida agents turned these documents over to the OPR and OIG, one of them was put on administrative leave the first sign that a cover-up was underway. Indirectly, they (the CIA) have got to take some of the blame. He alleged the CIA protected the DFS for decades, and stated, The DFS just got out of hand., Kiki Camarena Death: The Real Story of the DEA Agents Murder, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. Steve Murphy/Texas MonthlyJavier Pea stands near a Colombian National Police helicopter. She told the newspaper, Since retiring as a skin-care consultant, I can spend more time as president of the foundation. During the failed attempt, when Miguel was breathing through an oxygen tank behind one of the bathroom walls and got nicked with a driller, Fesitl says they were thisclose to capturing the boss. Agents from the Bogot office promised to help, one of them assuring the Florida agents that the informants release from prison could be arranged. I hated to see Maurices character get killed, but it was very exciting. Trujillo, who is based on a personwhose name has been changed, is also the Colombian cop who ends up pulling the final trigger on Escobar in the season finale. 3 power that is now No. Javier Pea is a DEA agent who worked alongside Steve Murphy during their hunt for Pablo Escobar. In real life, his name was Cesar Yusti. Feistl explains that they were looking for one of the few insiders who had precise intelligence about the Cali godfathers and their whereabouts, and Salcedo saw the writing on the wall and was looking to get his family to safety. You would look at it for hours and say there was nothing there, unless you took the shelves out and were able to manipulate some things that were there and get access to the door, which only opened from the inside. What do Glenn Fine, the head of the DOJs OIG, and Rogelio E. Guevara, who currently oversees the DEAs OPR, know about Kents charges, which were brought forth in his memo more than a year ago? ", Murphy (played by Boyd Holbrook) and Pena (played by Pedro Pascal) are the two agents responsible for taking down Pablo Escobar. A DEA agent in Bogot, it turns out, had told Colombian officials to lock them (the informants) up and throw away the key, according to Kent.
DEA agents seen as untouchable among drug cartels Kent alleges that one of the corrupt agents from Bogot was caught on a wiretap some time in 2004 discussing criminal activity related to the huge right-wing paramilitary group known as the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC in its Spanish initials). In Narcos: Mexico, Mika Camarena is depicted as a loyal and loving wife to DEA agent Kiki Camarena. Oftentimes, the people Pea worked with funneled information directly to Escobar. Since Pena this season was a composite of other real-life characters (the real Pena wasn't involved in the hunt for Cali), Feistl says he experienced such frustrations. "He wanted to ensure he could do the best job possible based on the information that he had," says the agent about the inquisitive actor, who got a crash-course from Feistl during the home visit before shooting. But the OPR mysteriously ordered the polygrapher not to report on the test: He was instructed (to say) that the test never took place.. Each murder was preceded by a request for their identity by an agent in Bogot.. (The 1999 charges were dismissed, according to a BBC News report, and not much is known about her life beyond that point.). He saw the possibility and the signs of an empire being builtthis narcotics empireand he wanted to put an end to it because he saw what it could possibly become..
Javier Pena [Warning: This story contains spoilers from the second season of Narcos.]. But Newman has not confirmed if he's ready to head straight there just yet. WebThe real-life 'Narcos' agents who helped bring down Pablo Escobar say their anger toward the notorious drug lord has not faded after 25 years - and painted a bleak picture of the Murphy says they didn't focus on her, but that her portrayal on the show was aligned with what they could piece together. Camarena received many awards and is considered an American hero. In addition to phone calls, where he says he mainly fielded questions to help solidify the timeline and accuracy of events,Stahl-David visited him at his home for several days. 33 Ancient History Facts You Definitely Didn't Learn In School, Nurse Reunites With Doctor She Cared For As A Premature Baby In That Same Hospital 28 Years Ago, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch, Actor Pedro Pascal (left), who portrays Javier Pea (right) in the Netflix hit. By 1985, which is when Narcos: Mexico roughly starts, he was extremely close to unlocking a multi-billion dollar drug pipeline, the DEA says. WebMurder of DEA agent Enrique Camarena was dark moment in 1980s drug war Killed by a cartel. We worked primarily with the police, and they were the guys that we trusted with our lives.
Cast: What Narcos Characters Look He talks about how The Hollywood Reporter is a part of Penske Media Corporation. "We told them how it actually happened," says Pena. The following is from a 2004 report prepared for Congress by the Congressional Research Service: Kent contends, in the memorandum, that during the wiretap, the corrupt Bogot DEA agent discusses his involvement in laundering money for the AUC. But despite being caught on tape admitting to helping the most murderous political force in the hemisphere today to launder the money from their extensive drug trafficking operations, the agent faced no punishment. The previous seasons focused on the rise and fall of Pablo Escobar and the Cali Cartel. "Once that was over, I think he looked for a way out and realized: once you get in, you cant get out. "There was a lot of corruption," says Murphy. They made startling revelations concerning DEA agents in Bogot, Kent writes.
Narcos "She actually talked to Eric [Newman] about it and said: 'Ive just got one bone to pick with you, I would have never left my husband there!' A lot of innocent people. "The corruption was even worse in the military. The document mirrored information the DEA group in Florida provided the corrupt agents in Bogot previously.. The corruption allegations raised in Kents memorandum are startling, but agents in the Bogot DEA office are not the first to have been accused of participating in a narco-trafficking conspiracy. Alyssa Diaz and Mika Camarena attend the Netflix Original Series Narcos: Mexico, special screening at LA Live in Los Angeles, CA on November 14, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. ", Pena adds of Escobar's final days: "He was running out of money and he was running out of time. [Laughs. What she was able to tell me was that he was a guy that just wanted to do good. "We first got hooked up on July 12, 1995," says Feistl. Netflixs hit series Narcos started out by following the story of infamous drug kingpin Pablo Escobar. Their hunt for the notoriousMedellinCartel leader was told on the first two seasons of Narcos, where both agents serve as series consultants. Kiki Camerena (Michael Pena), Narcos: Mexico 's main DEA agent ends up getting killed because he is too emotional. If we can put them together with the Public Integrity Section, they assured me that other agents who have to this point remained silent for fear of retaliation will come forward. The Florida agents kept trying to revive the investigation, but Bogot agents continued to thwart it one way or another. That's not a dedicated family man. A lot of good cops died. Eventually, they did and used him as an asset andPallomari, too, is now in U.S. witness protection. "The blow must go on. Kiss Paul Stanley Says Encouraging Kids to Gender Transition is a Dangerous Fad, Love & Death: Elizabeth Olsen and Lesli Linka Glatter on Why They Didnt Reach Out to Candy Montgomery, And Just Like That Season 2 Reveals Aidans Return in First Trailer, Black Mirror Sets Season 6 Return, Reveals Cast and Teaser Trailer, The Real DEA Agent of 'Narcos' Breaks Down What Season 3 Got Right, 7 Burning Questions for 'Narcos' Season 3, With Citadel, Priyanka Chopra Jonas Continues to Carve Out a Lane Thats All Her Own, The Diplomat, Starring Keri Russell, Lands Quick Renewal at Netflix, Bosch: Legacy Nabs Third Season at Amazon Freevee, How Actor and Writer Kelvin Yu Redirected His Flawed Hollywood Business Model, Netflix and Ryan Murphys Monster Anthology to Focus on Menendez Brothers in Season 2, TV Premiere Dates 2022: The Complete Guide, Broadcast TV Unscripted Scorecard 2022: Whats New, Renewed and Canceled, TV Pilots 2022: The Complete Broadcast Guide, The Definitive Voice of Entertainment News. "She knew, just like his mother, what he was doing. But the Pea of the show was also depicted as an agent not above breaking the law in order to complete his mission. In real life, this event caused the US to hit back hard in what came to be known as "Operation Leyenda". But we all know, thats not what he chose to do. For years in the 1980s, Escobar made untold billions off trafficking cocaine into the United States from his native Colombia. A full investigation of his allegations may well prove that the DEAs Bogot office is clean as a whistle. According to Kent, these offices which are supposed to serve as watchdog agencies that investigate corruption sabotaged investigations being carried out by the Florida DEA agents and by one of the OIGs own agents. There was also a standing bounty of $300,000 offered by Escobar for any DEA agent working in Colombia, including Pea. Washington, 26 abr. I explained that anything with addresses, phone numbers, bank accounts, any links to different countries or in the United States were all useful.". Javier Pea: The DEA Agent Who Hunted Down Pablo Escobar. "We dont binge-watch TV, but we binge-watched season two," Murphy told The Hollywood Reporter about blowing through the second season of the cartel drama with his wife in two days. 2023 The Hollywood Reporter, LLC. These charges blow away the smoke concealing the pretense of the war on drugs. There were ten to fifteen car bombs on a daily basis, Pea later said. Eric has lived up to his word 100 percent. He came back in 1999, where he overlapped with Pena, and until 2002 they were working against the North Valley cartel. In March 1985, the DEA recovered the body of Kiki Camarena, 37, who left behind Mika and three children named Enrique, Daniel, and Erik.
Narco News: Leaked Memo: Corrupt DEA Agents in In later years, DEA agent James Kuykendall, who was Camarenas supervisor in Guadalajara, has spoken out about the CIA and the Kiki Camarena murder. Betrayed by his own? He was about to expose the operation when he was kidnapped on February 7 while he went to have lunch with his wife, Mika. In reality, Salcedo was nowhere near the Pallomari capture. The show includes a whole new cast starring Michael Pena (DEA agent Kiki Camarena) and Diego Luna (the boss Flix Gallardo). NARCOS: MEXICO Official Trailer "Agent Kiki Camarena" (HD) Michael Pena Series, SUBSCRIBE for more TV Trailers HERE: goo.gl/TL21HZ He gave his life for his work. The traffickers eventually gave the Florida agents copies of confidential DEA reports, which the Bogot agents allegedly had handed over to the traffickers. In the 1970s and 1980s, Pablo Escobar held the country of Colombia in an iron grip as he and his Medelln Cartel terrorized the nation with a wave of killings and constant bombings in support of their drug trade. We never crossed that line, but thats what makes the show exciting and interesting, Pea said. WebWatson, a 43-year-old Louisiana native, was killed after being dragged out of a taxi on his way home from a Bogot restaurant late last Thursday night after watching the NBA "Jorge was getting real-time information from the police or military while this raid is technically in progress," he says. Among other things, it was alleged that the informant (the narco-trafficker) had several agents on his payroll who provided him with classified information. Javier had been there three years before me. The Reagan Administration predictably freaked out and exercised its power. It was just revenge because of all the cops he had killed, along with all those innocent people. The tape recordings that revealed this damning information were turned over to both the Office of Professional Responsibility and the Office of the Inspector General, Kent states in the memorandum. ]", Connie, whom Steve calls "one of the bravest women I've ever met," actually stayed at their home in Bogota while the agent spent most of the 18 months covered on season two hunting Escobar from Medellin. "We tend to say he was a Robin Hood guy because he took some of his ill-gotten gain and helped the poor, but thats all fantasy," he says. Working closely with various sectors of the Colombian military, it has fielded death squads responsible for murdering thousands of Colombians. "The violence thats depicted is all true: Pablo and his people are some of the most violent people to ever walk this earth," he said about experiencing similar feelings. At one point he even tells his wife, "He has to know my name!" Amazingly, Gallardo was only recently sentenced in the death (hed been sentenced before but a retrial was ordered; he never left prison after 1989, though). In the show, Pea is also involved in several extra-judicial killings and other breaches of professional ethics, which is pure drama for the show. "Javier and I were manning the 1-800 number but people would call in with all kinds of tips because there was a $500 reward on the table," he says. "Let me break it down for you: 4,000 soldiers, a 250-man team of Colombia's elite forces, tens of thousands of rounds fired, seven dogs and four fing helicopters. The Fund for Authentic Journalism, All contents, unless otherwise noted, 2000-2011 Al Giordano, The trademarks "Narco News," "The Narco News Chilean drug chemist Cockroach brings his product to Colombian smuggler Pablo Escobar. "What matters is that he was killed," he says. His standing offer was plata o plomo, which means, silver or lead. You could take Escobars money and work for him, or you could choose to stand up to him and die. His full name was Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo, and, in real life, he was a brutal and clever man called El Padrino AKA The Godfather. Steve Murphy/Texas MonthlyJavier Pea and Steve Murphy sit outside of La Catedral following Pablo Escobars escape. THR confirmed that two new DEA agents have been added as series regulars for season three: Michael Stahl-David (Show Me a Hero) as Chris Feistl and New Zealand actor Matt Whelan as his partner, Daniel Van Ness. Thats one of the messages he tries to portray.". The acrylic was then shipped to the United States and Europe where, during processing, the cocaine was extracted from the acrylic.. ET. The FARC (Spanish initials for Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the largest leftist insurgent group in that countrys civil war, accused by U.S. officials of drug and arms trafficking) was supposedly interested in buying communications equipment from him. "Ive heard Jorges version of what he believes happened. Narcos viewers know Chris Feistl as the hungry DEA agent who helped dismantle the season-three villains, the Cali cartel. As a result, Feistl, who is now retired, returned to Cali to meet up with the Narcos team for several days to show them the ropes. I think it was really beneficial to them to see that lay of land and see what we were working then.". It wasnt going after dope, it wasnt going after money. Though Murphy says he has no respect for Juan Pablo ("Hes trying to save face for his family and create a better legacy than his father left behind"), he admits that his side of what the family had faced after Pablo's death was interesting. Actors Pedro Pascal and Boyd Holbrook (top) who portray agents Pea and Murphy, respectively. "Thats how much we enjoyed it. Details: citywinery.com Don Berna was at the base [the Colombian National Police Fesitl was part of the extradition team and was present when Gilberto and Miguel were sent to the U.S. in 2004 and 2005, respectively, and that was his last interaction with the pair.