The war on illegal drugs in San Diego has a new chief leading the way to protect the public's safety. Karen Flowers is the new DEA Special Agent in Charge for the local division. She said, "we go after the biggest and baddest no matter where you are in the world."
Recently, DEA San Diego Division announced the takedown of drug trafficker Jesus Manuel Salazar-Nunez who according to court records tried to smuggle meth, cocaine and heroin from Mexico to San Diego. He was sentenced to more than 11 years.
As the first female to earn the role of Special Agent in Charge for the San Diego Division, Flowers said she wants to be inclusive and send a message to not "be afraid to live your life the way you want to live it."
Her passion for the job was affirmed early in her career. In her 20's holding an M-16 rifle, she joined her counterparts in Peru on a drug interdiction mission. She jumped out of a helicopter and said it was terrifying and exhilarating at the same time.
But the adrenalin rush is motivated every day by the sacrifice of Enrique Camarena, the DEA agent who was brutally murdered while working undercover in Mexico in 1985.
