The move by Mexico to allow the transfer of Rafael Caro Quintero to the United States signaled a potentially new era of cooperation in the drug war.
Following the kidnapping and murder of Camarena, Caro Quintero was arrested in April 1985 in Costa Rica and extradited to Mexico. His capture marked a milestone in the war on drugs. A judge sentenced him to 40 years for murder, setting in motion what would become decades of legal maneuvers to avoid justice.