Kiki’s Business Card

Accession Number:
2024.1.1

Special Agent Camarena joined DEA in 1974 graduating from basic agent training class number 7. He was eventually stationed at the US Consulate in Guadalajara, Mexico.

While investigating local drug traffickers, Kiki worked with officers from the Jalisco State Police. One officer helped by providing vehicle registration information on vehicles of interest but he was hesitant to be seen with Special Agent Camarena at the Consulate. Instead he would put the information he collected into an envelope and send family members to pass it along to Kiki.

During one of these meets in 1984 Special Agent Camarena gave this business card with the promise that if the family ever needed anything he or any other DEA agent would help - going so far as to include his personal phone extension on the back. Unfortunately, the following year after nearly unlocking a multi-billion-dollar drug pipeline, Kiki was kidnapped and murdered by drug traffickers.

In February of 2021 a family member of the officer that helped Kiki visited the US Consulate to meet with a DEA special agent there. He showed this business card to the agent and told them he had carried it in his wallet since it was given to him almost 40 years prior. After telling the story of how he got the business card, he agreed to donate it to DEA and the DEA Museum to be preserved for future generations.

The story of the life and ultimate sacrifice of Special Agent Kiki Camarena is still told by DEA today especially during Red Ribbon Week in October. In honor of Kiki’s dedication to DEA, young people across the country pledge to live drug-free lives.

Today, Red Ribbon Week is an 8-day celebration with engaging drug education programs, prevention activities, and contests.