MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s interior secretary says the government has exhausted its options and will comply with a judge’s order to release drug lord Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo, commonly known as ‘Don Neto,’ to serve out the remainder of his sentence at home.
Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong said Wednesday that Fonseca Carrillo’s release was imminent. The 86-year-old has nine years remaining on a 40-year sentence after being convicted in the 1985 kidnapping, torture and murder of U.S. DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena.
His family petitioned for home confinement due to his advanced age and poor health.
Another judge in 2013 released drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, also convicted of Camarena’s murder. Caro Quintero was ordered rearrested, but remains a fugitive.
Osorio Chong says the government has no choice but to follow the judge’s order.