Mika Camarena, an American activist, was married to the late Enrique S. “Kiki” Camarena Salazar, an American undercover agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) who was born in Mexico and was abducted, tortured, and killed by drug cartels in early 1985 while on assignment in Mexico. Mika, a former skin-care specialist, dedicated her life to spreading drug awareness across the nation since her spouse felt that if the battle on drugs is abandoned, the drug traffickers will succeed. She founded the Enrique S. Camarena Educational Foundation in 2004 alongside her eldest son Enrique and a few other former DEA agents and currently serves as its president. Across the country, she frequently gives speeches about drug awareness in libraries and schools. ‘Narcos: Mexico’ on Netflix has Alyssa Diaz as her.
Ascent to Fame of Mika Camarena
Mika Camarena started working as a medical insurance clerk for a Calexico doctor after she finished her education. She later worked as a clerk in the Calexico Municipal Court before moving on to become a skin-care consultant, a role she held until her retirement. She has turned into an activist and has promoted drug awareness among young people since her husband’s passing. But after Netflix released the crime drama series “Narcos: Mexico” in 2018, which told her husband’s terrible story, she lately garnered unheard-of levels of media exposure.
Personal & Family Life of Mika Camarena
Born in 1948 in the vicinity of Fresno, California, Geneva ‘Mika’ Camarena grew up in Calexico, a city located in Imperial County. After completing her education at Calexico High School, she went on to Imperial Valley College.
Both Mika Camarena and Kiki Camarena, her future spouse, were raised in Calexico, California. They remained in love after he started working as a firefighter and then joined the Calexico police department. They were high school sweethearts. After serving two years in the Marines, he joined the DEA as a special agent. He lived with Mika and their three sons, Enrique, Daniel, and Erik, while working in Guadalajara, Mexico. She knew the risks associated with his employment, even if he didn’t give her many details to prevent her from becoming anxious.
After roughly ten years, on February 7, 1985, Mexican drug traffickers kidnapped and brutally murdered Kiki, who was an undercover agent for the DEA infiltrating drug trafficking groups. At that time, their three kids were just eleven, six, and four years old. She put all of her energy into raising her three children and her career as a skin-care consultant after his passing. Nonetheless, given that her children’s schooling was funded by the money earned for survivors’ benefits, she believes that the DEA’s modifications after her husband’s passing did assist greatly. Additionally, the DEA updated her on the progress made in prosecuting those accountable for Kiki’s demise. But over time, she became less interested in the specifics of the case and more focused on his lifelong goal of keeping the drug cartels from winning.
When asked which day she remembers as her husband’s death anniversary in 2010, 25 years after his passing, she said that although she thinks of him every day, February 7, 1985 was the last day she saw him. This was because he went missing on February 7 and his body was found on March 5. In 2014, her eldest son Enrique started working as a deputy district attorney in the South Bay.
Mika Camarena as an Activist
To uphold and honor the sacrifices made by her husband, Kiki Camarena, his wife Mika Camarena got active in some social and charity endeavors following his passing. With the assistance of her son Enrique and several former DEA agents, she founded the Enrique S. Camarena Educational Foundation in 2004. The group provides life-size bronze busts of Kiki to be displayed in San Diego and other cities’ libraries.
Each year, six scholarships are awarded to high school students across the country thanks to the sales earnings. Despite her long career as a skin-care consultant, Mika, the organization’s president, frequently participated in discussions about drug awareness in schools and communities around the country.
After retiring, she now gives the group her full attention and collaborates with the police department, schools, and youth organizations to educate parents and young people about drugs. After Kiki was killed, a lot of people in Calexico started wearing red ribbons. This small act of kindness evolved into the Red Ribbon campaign, which is now observed for a week from October 23 to October 31 every year. She frequently brings up the idea that Red Ribbon Week ought to be observed annually to raise awareness about drugs throughout her speeches.
Net worth of Mika Camarena
The estimated net worth of Mika Camarena is about $1 million.