Guadalajara Cartel Co-Founder Don Neto Free at age 95

 El Armadillo for Borderland Beat

Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo, better known as Don Neto, one of the original architects of Mexico’s modern drug trade, is now a free man. According to Reforma, as of April 5, 2025, Fonseca Carrillo has fully served his sentence and is no longer under any legal restrictions in Mexico.  At 95 years old, the former Guadalajara Cartel boss was released after serving 40 years for his role in one of the most infamous cases in narco history: the 1985 abduction and murder of DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena and his pilot Alfredo Zavala.

Fonseca was captured on April 7, 1985, by the Mexican military in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco. 

In 2016, due to his age and deteriorating health, Fonseca was transferred to house arrest in a residential area of Mexico State. Don Neto is the uncle of former Juárez Cartel leaders Amado Carrillo Fuentes and Vicente Carrillo Fuentes.

His release coincides with a pivotal moment for Mexico’s criminal landscape, as the Trump administration looks to take a more aggressive approach toward the cartels, including terrorist designations. Freedom for Fonseca comes just two months after fellow Guadalajara Cartel co-founder Rafael Caro Quintero was extradited to the United States. Vicente Carrillo Fuentes was also extradited, along with 29 other high-profile cartel figures.

In March 2025, the family of Enrique “Kiki” Camarena filed a civil lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California against Rafael Caro Quintero, Ernesto “Don Neto” Fonseca Carrillo, Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, and the Sinaloa Cartel. The suit alleges that these individuals and the cartel are responsible for the 1985 abduction, torture, and murder of DEA agent Camarena. 

The legal action seeks compensation for both past and future pain and suffering endured by Camarena’s family due to his death. The plaintiffs are requesting damages, including compensatory and punitive damages, with the exact amount to be determined by the court. 

This lawsuit was made possible by the Trump administration’s designation of Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. This designation allows U.S. citizens to pursue legal action against these groups under the federal Anti-Terrorism Act.

Notably, this would not be the first time Fonseca Carrillo has been ordered to compensate Camarena’s family. In 2017, a Mexican judge mandated that he pay 20.8 million pesos (approximately $970,000 USD) to the families of both Camarena and his pilot, Alfredo Zavala. 

While he may be a free man in Mexico, he remains wanted by U.S. authorities for his role in Camarena’s murder, though it is unclear if extradition will be pursued.