LORD OF THE SKIES -  

   The Story of AMADO CARRILLO FUENTES - Drug Kingpin

Amado  

Carrillo  

Fuentes

,

  

arguably  

Mexico’s  

biggest  

drug  

trafficker,  

was  

known

as  

El  

Señor  

de  

Los  

Cielos

  

(Lord  

of  

the  

Skies)  

and  

he  

pioneered  

the  

use  

of  

jumbo

jets  

for  

the  

mass  

distribution  

of  

illicit  

drugs  

into  

the  

U.S.  

He  

seized  

control  

of  

the

Juárez  

Cartel  

after  

assassinating  

his  

boss  

Rafael  

Aguilar  

Guajardo.  

He  

died  

in

July  

1997  

in  

a  

Mexican  

hospital  

after  

undergoing  

extensive  

plastic  

surgery  

to

change  

his  

appearance.  

In  

his  

final  

days  

Carrillo  

was  

being  

tracked  

by  

Mexican

and  

U.S.  

authorities.  

He  

is  

regarded  

as  

one  

of  

the  

wealthiest  

criminals  

in  

history,

with an estimated net-worth of U.S. $25 billion

.

Despite his growing prominence as the notorious Lord of the Skies, Carrillo Fuentes was untouchable. Even when the U.S. government tried to get Carrillo Fuentes extradited on drug trafficking charges, it was to no avail. He was arrested just one time over the course of his drug smuggling career—by Guadalajara police in July 1989. Fingerprinted and jailed, he was supposed to go to trial, but nine months later, he was set free, never to be seriously in trouble again—that is, until 1996, when, with the arrest of Juan Abrego García, the drug lord became México’s most wanted man. Still, even with this close brush with the law, Carrillo Fuentes didn’t miss a beat. Indeed, Mexican authorities began calling him the “Lord of the Heavens.” The drug lord was able to protect his growing criminal empire because he could corrupt powerful individuals at the highest echelons of the Mexican establishment and get away with it. Corruption did not come cheap. It is estimated that Carrillo Fuentes had to pay between $500-to-$800 million yearly in bribes. Still, it was money well spent. A 1994 DEA intelligence report graphically detailed how Carrillo Fuentes did it. According to the report, the drug lord “purchased influence at various levels of the Mexican government, and by establishing powerful connections he ensured safe passage of his illegal drug shipments through México to the U.S.”