"It's a transitional stopping-off point in the movement of drugs from Colombia to the United States. "It's important to understand why Guadalajara is so important," he said. Mann downplayed his interest in "Drug Wars" as being an extension of his work in "Miami Vice." It was, he said, the scale of the drug operation in Guadalajara that caught his interest. Something sinister is going on - at the outset you're not sure just what - and you half expect Crockett and Tubbs to step from the shadows and sort things out. The series has a look, feel and sound that is highly reminiscent of "Miami Vice." Shady characters come and go, and the soundtrack is thick with accents and pulsating music. Relations between the United States and Mexico were strained when Mexico refused to extradite Caro Quintero to the United States and he was found to be living in luxury in a Mexican prison.Īmid Mexican-American tension over the handling of the case, The Washington Post reported that Mexican authorities were concerned about the possible impact of the TV miniseries, fearing it might portray Mexico unfavorably, revive the considerable American anger over the killing and overshadow Mexican efforts to cut down drug trafficking. Rafael Caro Quintero and Ernesto Rafael Fonseca Carrillo were sentenced early last month. Since that press conference, two Mexican drug lords were given 40-year prison terms for their roles in the murder of Camarena. "The case hasn't been solved at all," she said, "neither in the legal process, nor does anybody know exactly what happened to Camarena, who ordered his death, how high up did it go, when the coverup occurred - and there was a large one - and who exactly was responsible for that?" Marcello, who has been with the DEA since 1973.Īnd the series was based on "Desperados," written by Shannon, a correspondent in Time magazine's Washington bureau.Īt a Los Angeles press conference to discuss the miniseries, Shannon said that the Camarena abduction and killing has not been completely solved. Executive producer Michael Mann seems to have come this way before as executive producer of "Miami Vice." The production was assisted by technical advice from John M. The series production staff is well credentialed. Treat Williams plays Ray Carson, who heads the investigation into Camarena's killing.Įlizabeth Pena, who will be featured as the secretary in the upcoming series "Shannon's Deal," portrays Camarena's widow, Mika, left with three sons, who pleads with his fellow agents not to let her husband become just another number, an anonymous casualty in the war on drugs. Nelson, television's "Coach," plays Camarena's boss and best friend, Harley Steinmetz, who puts his own career on the line to expose the corruption that surrounded Camarena's death. The series introduces a cast of knights without armor: Steven Bauer has the lead in the early going as Camarena. It's the forward line in the war on drugs at a key source and transfer point. The series opens with a narrator describing the role of DEA agents: They operate, in this case, in a foreign country, with no power of arrest, no assurances of support. It also comes at a time when the United States' relations with drug-producing nations south of our border have been tense - tensions that led to invasion of Panama last month. The series airs at a time when American sensitivity to the illicit drug trade has probably never been higher. The series itself became a bit of a pawn in the diplomatic cat-and-mouse game between the United States and Mexico, but more on that later. Now the story takes the form of a TV miniseries, "Drug Wars: The Camarena Story," an NBC offering airing six hours over three nights (Sunday to Tuesday) at 9. Local Mexican police were said to be part of the abduction, and there appeared to be an official coverup. The case has been a point of contention between Americans and Mexicans since 1985, when Camarena was slain. Enrique "Kiki" Camarena was a Drug Enforcement Administration agent, abducted off the street in Guadalajara while serving in Mexico, tortured and killed. Lawmen, and the War America Can't Win."īut first of all, it was a tragedy. It has been a cover story in Time magazine, and it has been a book by Elaine Shannon, titled "Desperados," with a telling subtitle: "Latin Drug Lords, U.S. The story of Kiki Camarena has taken many forms.
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