Ruben Zuno Arce (1930-2012) was a Mexican businessman and associate of the Guadalajara Cartel. He was one of the men responsible for DEA agent Kiki Camarena's murder in 1985.
Biography[]
Ruben Zuno Arce was born in Mexico City, Mexico in 1930, and he became the brother-in-law of President Luis Echeverria. Using his connections to high-ranking Mexican politicians, Zuno became a powerful businessman and socialite. In 1984, he invited Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo to meet him at his club in the capital after Miguel Angel paid his nephew $1 million to make the introduction; Arce left Miguel Angel to play golf before he could hear Miguel Angel's business proposal, but Miguel Angel was told by Zuno's nephew that he had already been informed of the offer. Zuno was to provide political protection for Miguel Angel, and he demonstrated his support when he warned Miguel Angel against flying into El Paso, Texas to launder his money, helping him evade a DEA ambush. In 1985, the DEA agent Kiki Camarena was taken to Zuno's estate to be tortured by Miguel Angel, and, during Operation Leyenda, DEA agent Walt Breslin captured the torturer Sergio Verdin and forced him to give up Zuno's name. Zuno went into hiding in Puerto Vallarta, where he was guarded by troops sent by his uncle, Juan Arevalo Gardoqui. He later attempted to flee from his estate, only for his flight to be diverted to Texas, where he was arrested. He was tried for Camarena's murder in 1990, but the guilty verdict was thrown out due to Mexico's protests about the nature of his capture. Zuno was retried in 1992 and convicted, and he died in prison in Florida in 2012 at the age of 82 from metastatized cancer.