Amado Carrillo Fuentes Biography & Net Worth

Amado Carrillo Fuentes Biography & Net Worth

Amado Carrillo Fuentes was a Mexican drug lord who due to his impressive level of wealth, was (and still is) regarded as one of the most powerful drug kingpins of all time. He was known for making use of several sophisticated technology in his illegal operations, particularly in regard to the employment of aircraft to transport huge amounts of cocaine. The following are details of his biography, business model and earnings, crimes, and his life story leading to his death.

Amado Carrillo Fuentes’ Early Life

Amado Carrillo Fuentes was born in Sinaloa, Mexico on December 17 1956. He was raised alongside his eleven siblings in a family that shared close ties to the Guadalajara Cartel through his uncle, a one time leader of the organization. Fuentes’ uncle was Ernesto “Don Neto” Fonseca Carrillo. He introduced him into the cartel when he was still quite young, and gave him a place as a high-ranking lieutenant. Fuentes also introduced his own brothers and his son as well into the cartel.

Amado Carrillo Fuentes’ Career

While Ernesto “Don Neto” Fonseca Carrillo was still in charge of the Guadalajara Cartel, he sent his nephew Amado Fuentes to supervise cocaine shipping business in Chihuahua. During this time, Fuentes gained a lot of experience from veteran drug dealers such as Rafael Aguilar Guajardo and Pablo “The Ojinaga Fox” Acosta Villareal. One of Fuentes’ brothers and their father later died under suspicious circumstances.

At a certain point in time, Rafael Aguilar Guajardo was the leader of the Juarez Cartel, and had Fuentes working under him. In 1993, Fuentes killed Guajardo and took over the entire Juarez Cartel. What followed was a serious war in the underworld as various figures within the cartel vyed for power. Amado Carrillo Fuentes eventually consolidated his power and started building his multi-billion dollar drug empire. Fuentes invested in sophisticated surveillance technology heavily, in order to spy on and map out his rivals. He revolutionized drug trade by making use of privately owned airplanes to move drugs across borders. It was during this time that he earned the moniker “El Señor de Los Cielos” (meaning The Lord of the Skies). Eventually, Fuentes assembled a gigantic fleet of private jets, including more than 30 Boeing 727s. In order to buy these expensive planes, he also started an extensive money-laundering process in Columbia. He also started to work with many big names in the South American drug industry, including the Beltran Leyva Cartel, the Tijuana Cartel, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera, and Pablo Escobar.

Family, Fall and Death

Amado Carrillo Fuentes eventually attained a high level of power and authority in the underworld. He was so influential and notorious that he was in danger of ruthlessly corrupting Mexico’s government. Mexican people saw that he owned a house in Morelos state just three blocks away from the governor’ house. Residents made some calculations and assumed that of the governor, Jorge Carrillo Olea, was working with Fuentes. Olea had already come under serious pressure for his inaction while criminal activities and drug violence swept through the vicinity. Due to increased pressure from the public, Jorge Carrillo Olea resigned from office and was immediately arrested. This frightened Amado Carrillo Fuentes, who at that time was under chase by Mexican Anti-Drug squads and DEA agents. He went into hiding, moving from  country to country, hoping to find protection in nations such as Russia and. As a last alternative, he agreed to undergo a plastic surgery operation that would restructure his face completely. Although he hoped this operation would enable him continue living his life under a new identity, it ended in total disaster. Something went wrong during the surgery and Fuentes died despite the efforts of the surgeons. Those same surgeons were later abducted, tortured, killed, and enclosed inside concrete-filled steel drums.

As soon as news of his death spread, another period of drug-fueled violence ensued as various cartel leaders battled to fill the vacuum Fuentes left behind. The authorities were quick to take hold of Fuentes’ assets, including 60 properties in Mexico that were purportedly being used to store weapons and drugs, and $10 billion in bank account funds. His wife and son, Vicente Carrillo Leyva luckily survived the violence that followed his death. Unfortunately, Leyva was already heavily involved in drug trade at the time of Fuentes’ passing, and he and many of Fuentes’ associates were arrested. It is on record that Amado Carrillo Fuentes had specifically told his son to not get himself involved in the drug business and also sent him to one of the most prestigious universities in Spain, Switzerland and Mexico. However, Vicente ignored his father’s warning and later faced charges for drug trafficking, money-laundering, and firearms possession after his father’s death.

Amado Carrillo Fuentes’ funeral of has been described one of the most expensive and lavish in Mexico’s history. Held in Sinaloa, the funeral went on for many days and drew thousands of people from different parts of the world as they came to pay their respects.

Amado Carrillo Fuentes Net Worth

Fuentes is remembered as a prolific Mexican drug lord. During the peak of his reign as one of the most dreaded drug kingpins, Amado Carrillo Fuentes net worth was $25 billion. Due to his distinctive level of wealth, it’s not surprising that he was (and still is) regarded as one of the most powerful drug lords that has ever lived. He passed away in 1997 following a botched plastic surgery operation.