Part 6/11:
Similar to Sambaba, Raphael Cárdenas Guízar, a co-founder of the Guadalajara cartel and wanted for decades, will also not face the death penalty. Cárdenas, charged with leading a criminal enterprise, drug trafficking, conspiracy, and the infamous murder of DEA agent Enrique Kiki Gamarena, pleaded not guilty in New York.
His attorney, Elizabeth Macedono, indicated that they anticipate facilitating a plea deal, further illustrating the DOJ’s broader strategy of encouraging cooperation over capital punishment. These negotiations could involve accessing classified FBI audio recordings, potentially implicating U.S. or Mexican intelligence agencies, and mapping the cartel's evolution from the 1980s onward.