Juan Arévalo Gardoqui (born in México City, July 23, 1921-May 4, 2000, Mexico City) served as Mexico's

Secretary of Defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

from 1982 to 1988.

Family

His parents were General Gustavo Arévalo and Magdalena Gardoqui. He had one brother, Gustavo Arévalo Gardoqui, who served as a federal deputy representing Baja California from 1961 to 1964. Arévalo married Maria del Carmen LaMadrid and had a son, Gustavo Arévalo Vera.

Career

He began his military career in 1940 when he entered the Heroic Military College, graduating on June 30, 1943 as a 2nd Cavalry Lieutenant. He entered the Higher War College in 1947 and graduated three years later acquiring the status of officer of cadets. In his military career he held several important positions, among which stand out: General Director of Cavalry, Commander of the 1 / a. and 5 / a. Military Areas. He joined the PRI in 1957 and served as the head of security for Secretary

Adolfo López Mateos Adolfo López Mateos (; 26 May 1909 – 22 September 1969) was a Mexican politician who served as President of Mexico from 1958 to 1964. Beginning his political career as a campaign aide of José Vasconcelos during his run for president, Lóp ...

during his successful presidential campaign in 1957. In 1982, he was appointed Secretary of National Defense, a position he held until November 30, 1988. As Secretary of the branch, he supported the development of the military industry with the manufacture of new weapons, clothing and equipment and implemented the DN-III-E Plan for the Assistance of the civilian population in cases of disaster.

Corruption

In 1988, a

Drug Enforcement Administration The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within th ...

informant accused Arévalo of taking a $10 million bribe from drug trafficker

Rafael Caro Quintero Rafael Caro Quintero (born October 24, 1952) is a Mexican drug lord who co-founded the now-disintegrated Guadalajara Cartel with Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo and other drug traffickers in the late 1970s. He is the brother of fellow drug traffic ...

in return for protecting a

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

plantation in Allende (Chihuahua). In 1984, acting on information from the DEA, 450 Mexican soldiers backed by helicopters had destroyed the plantation. DEA Administrator

John C. Lawn John C. "Jack" Lawn (born June 2, 1935) served as Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) between 26 July 1985 and 23 March 1990. On 1 March 1985, Lawn, who had served as Deputy Administrator since 1982, was designated Acting Ad ...

expressed skepticism about the claim and Arevalo was never formally investigated. In 1995, the U.S. Justice Department's prosecution of drug trafficker Juan Benito Castro revealed that in 1993, the DEA had intercepted 348 kilograms of cocaine that belonged to Arévalo. In 2014, three former police officers in the

United States Federal Witness Protection Program The United States Federal Witness Protection Program (WPP), also known as the Witness Security Program or WITSEC, is a witness protection program codified through 18 U.S. Code § 3521 and administered by the United States Department of Justic ...

accused Arévalo and

Interior Secretary The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natural ...

Manuel Bartlett Manuel Bartlett Díaz (born 23 February 1936) is a Mexican politician, and the current director of the public energy company CFE, and former Secretary of the Interior. Bartlett was elected to the Senate of the Republic for the 2000–2006 t ...

of participation in the interrogation, torture, and murder of DEA Agent

Kiki Camarena Enrique "Kiki" Camarena Salazar (July 26, 1947 – February 9, 1985) was an American intelligence officer for the United States (DEA). In February 1985 Camarena was kidnapped by drug traffickers hired by Mexican politicians in Guadalajara, Mexic ...

in 1985 as part of the

Iran–Contra affair The Iran–Contra affair ( fa, ماجرای ایران-کنترا, es, Caso Irán–Contra), often referred to as the Iran–Contra scandal, the McFarlane affair (in Iran), or simply Iran–Contra, was a political scandal in the United States ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardoqui, Juan Arévalo 1921 births 2000 deaths Mexican Secretaries of Defense Mexican generals Institutional Revolutionary Party politicians 20th-century Mexican military personnel 20th-century Mexican politicians People from Mexico City