January 12, 1945 - Juan Matta-Ballesteros

Juan Ramón Matta-Ballesteros (also spelled Mata-Ballesteros; January 12, 1945 – October 30, 2025) was a Honduran major narcotics trafficker who has been credited with being one of the first to connect Mexican drug traffickers with the Colombian cocaine cartels. This connection paved the way for a major increase in the amount of cocaine smuggled into the United States during the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s.

In 1988, Matta was arrested at his Honduran residence in a controversial operation by the Honduran and US. government and taken to the United States, where he stood several trials for his drug smuggling activities and his part in the kidnap and murder of Enrique Camarena. He was found guilty of drug smuggling, and of participating in the kidnapping, but not the murder, of Camarena. In 2017, his conviction in the Camarena kidnapping was overturned because of the flawed forensic evidence used in his trial. A new trial was ordered, but in 2018 prosecutors decided to drop the charges.

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