Born in Sinaloa in December 1954 as one of twelve children, Amado Carrillo Fuentes entered the drug trade through his uncle Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo, known as Don Neto, a founding figure of the Guadalajara Cartel. Trained on the border at Ojinaga, he assassinated his mentor Rafael Aguilar Guajardo to seize control and modernize the business, retrofitting Boeing 727s and Caravelle jets to move narcotics by air and earning the title El Senor de los Cielos, the Lord of the Skies.

His fleet, corrupted radar operators, and an estimated 25 billion dollar empire made him a partner to Pablo Escobar, the Cali Cartel, El Chapo, and the Arellano Felix and Beltran Leyva organizations. His brazen life in Morelos, blocks from the governor, drew public protest and federal pressure. Fleeing exposure, he checked into a Mexico City hospital on July 4, 1997,  ...