'The Last Narc' Episode 2: How Hector Berrellez built the team that investigated the murder of Kiki Camarena
Amazon Prime Video's 'The Last Narc' tells the bone-chilling story of the abduction and murder of Mexican-American undercover agent Enrique S. 'Kiki' Camarena Salazar, who was working for the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Directed by Tiller Russell, 'The Last Narc' docuseries delves deeper into the operation helmed by Kiki and the most notorious murder in the history of the DEA - that of a man who only ever wanted to do right.
Former DEA Supervisor and Special Agent Hector Berrellez sat down in front of Russell's camera to reveal the gory details of the murder, but before he gets to that, there is a plethora of information revealed that has been kept under the wraps this whole time.
Early on in the docuseries, Berrellez reveals that the DEA was indeed involved in the murder of Kiki and also in the following cover-up. Following this revelation, he embarked on a tale that brings together Jorge Godoy, Phil Jordan, Ramón Lira, René Lopez, Manny Madrano, Consuelo 'Chatita' Berrellez, Jaime Kuykendall, Mike Holm and Jim White, all narrating their end of the story and the role they had to play in this investigation.
It is Berrellez who, three years after Kiki's murder said that he was roped in to supervise Operation Leyenda - the codename for the DEA's investigation of the kidnapping, torture and murder of Kiki, Leyenda means 'lawman' in Spanish. The main reason being that Berrellez had been in firefights in Mexico, so he "knew and understood Mexico".
When the operation started, the DEA did not have one person who could give them any kind of inside information on the kidnapping or murders, no witnesses, nothing. Berrellez had warned authorities that the informant budget would be close to $3 million, but he promised them that he would get informants in Los Pinos.
He started with a certain name Rafa, who ran brothels down in Mexico and supplied girls and women to cartels. Rafa led Berrellez to Jorge Godoy, who at the time was not only on the Jalisco State Police but also the drug lord Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo's bodyguard. Although skeptical to get on board at first, scared that he would be arrested, he joined Berrellezz riddled by the guilt of his actions and for redemption.
When Jorge started revealing the truth, he told them how he was present during the pre-abduction meetings and promised to get more people who picked Kiki up, interrogated him and more. Jorge brought along with him his colleague René Lopez, who was also a homicide cop and assigned to Carrillo's protection. He also happened to be in the car when they picked up Kiki.
Six months after Lopez was brought on board, Lira was recruited by Berrellez. He was also a Jalisco State Police and an eye-witness to the kidnapping and became Berrellez's third witness. And so the four together begin looking into the details of the abduction as retired federal prosecutor Medrano went back and forth to verify their details.
Each man on Berrellez's team had left behind their wives, children and families to embark on this dangerous, life-threatening investigation,not only to bring Kiki to justice but also to seek redemption for their own sins.
All four episodes of the docuseries are currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.