President Vicente Fox’s story was not sothing that could be easily believed.
“So, to summarize... you’re saying that the Institutional Revolutionary Party, which was the ruling party at the ti, ordered the killing of an Arican citizen?”
“I only found out after I beca president.”
“You’ve got to be insane, but there’s a limit. The governnt itself ordered the killing of a U.S. agent? Are they out of their minds, or just fearless?”
A curse slipped out in Korean before I could stop myself.
“What did you say?”
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
Fox couldn’t understand what I had said, but he seed to grasp the tone well enough.
The reason Rafael Caro Quintero had never been extradited to the United States lay with the Institutional Revolutionary Party.
When Enrique Camarena, a DEA agent, dug into the drug cartels, he uncovered their own dirty dealings as well. So they used Rafa to have him killed.
‘If this ever becos public...’
Relations between the United States and xico would inevitably freeze over.
At the mont, xico’s economy was practically dependent on the United States. If relations soured, xico’s economy would collapse.
Even if President Fox knew what the Institutional Revolutionary Party had done, he had no choice but to keep it buried.
“Rafa used that as leverage to negotiate with the xican governnt and block his extradition. He’s living in a private space inside the prison, like a king.”
“So you already knew.”
“Yes. I was elected president, but without the support of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, I couldn’t run the governnt smoothly. So I accepted their demands.”
I let out a sigh and nodded.
“Does Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo not know about this?”
“Gallardo is soone you can reason with.”
“...Then why did Gallardo take all the bla and go quietly?”
“I don’t know that much. But after he went to the U.S., he never said a word.”
“I know that too.”
“He might have made so kind of deal with the party. But I don’t know the details.”
“Still, if you wanted to, you could make it happen, right?”
“It’s possible. In the end, I’m the one who signs the final extradition docunts. But I won’t stamp it.”
“Hmm.”
Fox was resolute.
“No matter how you try to pressure , it won’t work. This isn’t a personal issue—it concerns the survival of the country. I have about a year left in my term. I don’t want to go down as the worst president.”
It was frustrating, but I could understand his position.
“So the conclusion is that Rafa’s mouth has to be kept shut.”
“That’s right.”
“You could just kill him, couldn’t you?”
If he was in prison, there were countless ways to do it.
“We can’t act recklessly. If he dies and so unknown evidence surfaces afterward, it could beco a bigger problem.”
“Hmm.”
Rafa’s extradition was as good as dead.
“You should have told about sothing like this earlier. Now I have to redo all my plans.”
Perhaps my irritation showed, because Fox’s voice turned sharp.
“Charlie, watch your tone. I am the President of xico.”
Normally, I might have let it slide. But not now.
“Mr. President, variables like this are dangerous. Even a small hole can bring down a dam. If sothing like this existed, you should have told in advance.”
“He’s already locked up in prison. I didn’t think it was necessary to ntion.”
“No. That was the most important part. A deal is a deal, so I won’t reveal this to the United States. But it does make more certain that I need to wrap things up quickly and leave xico.”
I sighed and continued.
“I’ll be reviewing all investnt plans as well.”
“Charlie.”
“How can I trust a governnt like this with investnts? Everything needs to be re-evaluated. You should understand that.”
“...Wait—”
“And I’ll handle Rafa myself. Inform the prison authorities in advance.”
“...Will that be alright?”
“If you do that, I’ll make sure the First Lady’s story never reaches the Arican press.”
“You must not kill him. Not until we know what kind of trick Rafa has prepared...”
“Yes. I’ll make sure it doesn’t cause problems for the xican governnt. Just arrange for to et him.”
Fox nodded.
“I’ll pass that along.”
“Then I’ll take my leave.”
“The investnt issue—”
I cut him off.
“I’m not withdrawing. I’m reviewing it, taking into account the xican governnt’s credibility. It’s not sothing I can decide alone. Just wait.”
Han Kyungyeong had reacted quite positively to investing in xico.
The North Arican Free Trade Agreent—NAFTA—between the United States, Canada, and xico was a double-edged sword for xico.
After NAFTA was signed, xico suffered a major economic crisis.
Signed without preparation, it worked overwhelmingly in favor of the United States.
But as ti passed, and the U.S. raised trade barriers, it would ultimately benefit xico greatly. Companies targeting the U.S. market would start building factories in xico one after another.
Originally, this was exactly the ti to begin investing.
But now that I knew sothing existed that could damage relations with the U.S., a full reassessnt was necessary.
“I’ll bring you better news next ti.”
With that, I left the president’s office.
On the way back, I told Manager Ma everything.
“Now I understand.”
“Right?”
“Yes. Why the U.S. kept making demands and was ignored... and how that man lives like an emperor in prison. It all makes sense now.”
“This does nothing for us.”
“Then will you revise the plan?”
I shook my head.
“No. We’ll still use Juan José Esparragoza Moreno. There’s no faster way to finish this operation.”
Even though I said we needed to rethink things, it was too late to change the plan now.
“Then what will you do?”
“I’ll think about it. If it cos to it, we abandon El Azul.”
“Amado will resist.”
“If there’s no other way, we’ll do it anyway. At this rate, we’ll be spending New Year’s in xico.”
The schedule I had thought would be simple was dragging on.
The situation seen from the outside and the reality on the ground were completely different.
“I want to spend New Year’s in Busan.”
That was my honest feeling.
* * *
“The Institutional Revolutionary Party was behind Kiki’s death?”
Ramos blinked in disbelief after hearing my explanation.
“Yes. That’s what President Fox said, so it’s likely true.”
“So that’s why they were so desperate to block Rafa’s extradition. Those crazy bastards.”
“You understand why they did it, right?”
“Yes. While digging into the cartels, he must have uncovered the connections between them and the party. So they buried it by killing him.”
Ramos’ thoughts matched mine.
But there was one more thing.
“When the U.S. took a hardline stance, they had no choice but to arrest Rafa and extradite Gallardo. They sent the one they could reason with and blocked the one they couldn’t.”
“That sounds like Rafa. I’ve never t him in person, but even from the files, you can feel how vile he is. He resented Gallardo deeply. He was jealous of him.”
“Yeah. I’ve read sothing like that too.”
“So he sold out Gallardo while creating an escape route for himself. Since the party granted his demands, there must be concrete evidence. The DEA isn’t the kind of organization that would settle for just testimony.”
Unless we secured the evidence Rafa held, the xican governnt would never send him to the U.S.
“How is the DEA reacting?”
“Rafa is on a completely different level from El Azul. If he’s extradited, they’re willing to lift any wanted notice—not just El Azul’s.”
“Really? That much?”
“The higher-ups might not like it, but if the field agents all push for it, they’ll have no choice.”
“And most of them agree?”
Ramos nodded firmly.
“Yes. I’ve spoken to many of them. There are veterans who stay in the field even when they could move to headquarters. If they lead the sentint, the DEA will accept the deal.”
“The problem is, if we don’t secure Rafa’s evidence, none of this matters.”
“Would killing him be difficult?”
“If he dies and that evidence surfaces afterward, it’ll turn into a bigger scandal. Not against Rafa—but against the xican governnt.”
Even after discussing counterasures for a long ti, no clear solution erged.
“...We have no choice. Let’s push forward.”
“If the deal isn’t honored, dealing with the DEA afterward will beco difficult. Their cooperation is essential. If that breaks, everything falls apart.”
“Then we kill El Azul.”
“What about Amado? The Juárez Cartel will react. And once that precedent exists, no one will trust the committee’s decisions.”
“We stage it as an accident during combat.”
“Will that work?”
“If it doesn’t, we make it work. That’s our worst-case scenario. I’ll keep digging into Rafa. You keep working the DEA.”
“Understood.”
After sending Ramos away, Amado Carrillo ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) Fuentes arrived shortly after.
“What happened? Did the DEA promise to lift El Azul’s wanted status?”
He asked about El Azul the mont he sat down.
“What does El Azul say?”
“He’s set to et Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán and Ismael Zambada García. We don’t have much ti—just one week. We need an answer before then.”
“Don’t worry about the DEA.”
“Is that true?”
“Yes. If things go well, El Azul’s wanted notice will be lifted.”
“Good. Jose’s been worried. He’s betraying El Chapo, after all.”
“If this works out, make sure El Azul is rewarded generously.”
Amado laughed loudly.
“Of course. Once the Sinaloa Cartel collapses, we can unify all the cartels in xico.”
“Coordinate with Black Bear. Scout the eting location in advance. We cannot afford to miss anything.”
“Understood.”
“Once this is over, I’m leaving xico. After that, deal with Carlos Slim instead of .”
Amado nodded slowly.
“I’ll arrange one final eting with Carlos Slim. He’ll be easier to deal with than . But don’t let him control you. His greed has no limits.”
“We know that better than anyone.”
“As long as I exist, Carlos Slim won’t try to take over the committee. Nor will he get too deeply involved.”
Carlos Slim was not soone who could step into the spotlight. If he got too entangled with the cartels, he could lose everything.
“Outwardly, act like you’re serving him. The xican governnt’s cooperation cos through him.”
“Yes.”
“Then once El Chapo is eliminated, I’ll set up the eting.”
After finishing with Amado, I watched his car leave through the window and spoke to Manager Ma.
“One week. Within that ti, we secure Rafa’s evidence. Otherwise... we kill El Azul.”
“How do we proceed?”
“Use every resource we have—people, money, everything. Watch Rafa’s surroundings. He must have entrusted the evidence to soone reliable. I’ll et Rafa myself. Maybe I’ll get a clue from talking to him.”
The next day.
I headed to the prison where Rafa was serving his sentence.
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