The mysterious death of Enrique ‘Kiki’ Camarena

Thirty-six years ago, the murder of a DEA agent began one of the biggest manhunts in North American history – and was an ominous warning of things to come. But was he killed by the cartel, or betrayed by his own people? Benjamin T Smith has spent a decade trying to find out

The Camarena case is still a deep, dark hole (United States Drug Enforcement Agency)

It was 7 March 1985 and the DEA’s chief Mexico agent, Ed Heath, was in the morgue again. He was staring at what remained of a heavyset Hispanic male. Since he first arrived in Mexico nearly 20 years earlier, Heath had got used to seeing what violence could do to a body. In the 1960s, he had adventured into the hills above Acapulco, and shot chunks out of peasant weed smugglers in sweaty, nerve-racking shootouts. When he returned in 1973, he had watched his friend, the Mexican police commander, Florentino Ventura’s savage interrogation techniques firsthand. He had even gone out for drinks with him afterwards.

But this was different. At least it felt different. The body was that of DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena. The dirt-flecked corpse was now in such a state of decay it was difficult to tell exactly how he had died. It was certainly a few weeks ago now. Three ribs were broken. So was his right arm. There were bruises, cuts and burns all over his body. And his rectum had been violated by a stick. But doctors reassured Heath that what finally killed Camarena was the deep indentation on the left side of his head.

The drug war was a numbers game. Its success or failure was measured out (and manipulated) by endless graphs of arrests made, kilos seized and purity affected. Heath knew this better than most. He was one of the few field agents to have risen through the ranks to become an administrator. And he had done it by encouraging DEA support for Mexico’s numbers-focused effort.