Mexican drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, charged with killing DEA agent, may face death penalty in U.S.

New York — Federal prosecutors are considering seeking the death penalty against Mexican drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero in a sprawling case that includes the 1985 killing of an agent of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Saritha Komatireddy confirmed that capital punishment remains on the table as a possibility when pressed by a judge hearing the case in Brooklyn federal court Wednesday.

The top count Caro Quintero faces - leading a continuing criminal enterprise - carries a mandatory minimum sentence of life imprisonment, with the possibility of the death penalty, prosecutors have said.