Mexico City (AFP) - No Americans participated in the tactical operation by Mexican marines that saw notorious drug kingpin Rafael Caro Quintero taken into custody, the US ambassador to Mexico said Saturday.
Ken Salazar's clarification followed some confusion over the extent of US involvement in the Friday operation, in which 14 servicemen of the Mexican Navy (SEMAR) died when their helicopter crashed.
Washington accuses Caro Quintero, 69, of ordering the kidnap, torture and murder of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) special agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena in 1985.
He was detained by Mexican marines in the town of Choix in the northwestern state of Sinaloa, for "the purpose of extradition," SEMAR said in a statement.
A statement Friday by DEA chief Anne Milgram lauded her agency's "team in Mexico" for working "in partnership with Mexican authorities to capture and arrest Rafael Caro Quintero," leading some to believe American personnel had taken part in the operation.
Ambassador Salazar clarified on Saturday that "no United States personnel participated in the tactical operation that resulted in Caro Quintero's arrest."
"We laud SEMAR for executing the operation, and lament the loss of 14 brave Mexican marines," he added.
It was not initially known whether the helicopter carrying the marines had been taking part in operations against Caro Quintero, but Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador confirmed on Twitter late Friday that they were "supporting those who executed the arrest warrant."
Caro Quintero had already been arrested in 1985, tried in Mexico and sentenced to 40 years in prison for Camarena's murder.
But in 2013 a Mexican court ordered his release on a legal technicality after he served 28 years, a move that angered US authorities.
By the time Mexico's Supreme Court overturned the decision, Caro Quintero had already gone into hiding.
The case plunged US-Mexican relations into a crisis, and it took decades for anti-drug agencies on both sides of the border to rebuild trust.
Caro Quintero, alias "Rafa," has a $20 million bounty on his head and is described by the FBI -- which put him on its list of 10 most-wanted fugitives -- as "extremely dangerous."
He is accused of co-founding the now-defunct Guadalajara drug cartel and currently runs an arm of the infamous Sinaloa cartel, according to US authorities.
The US Department of Justice expressed gratitude Friday to Mexican authorities over Caro Quintero's arrest, confirming the US plans to seek his extradition.
"There is no hiding place for anyone who kidnaps, tortures, and murders American law enforcement," Attorney General Merrick Garland said.
