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The History of Red Ribbon

On the afternoon of February 7, 1985 in Guadalajara, Mexico, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena locked his badge and revolver in his desk drawer and left to meet his wife for lunch. He unsuspectingly crossed the street to his pickup truck. While unlocking the doors to his vehicle, he was grabbed by five men who shoved him into a beige Volkswagen. One month later, his body was discovered in a shallow grave. Agent Camarena and his informant, Alfredo Zavala Avelar, were savagely and grotesquely murdered.

Kiki joined the DEA in 1974 and asked to be transferred to Guadalajara, Mexico, the center of the drug trafficking empire. While investigating a multi-billion dollar drug scam, he confiscated thousands of pounds of cocaine, and hundreds of thousands of pounds of marijuana. He suspected the drug scam involved officers in the Mexican army, police and government. Agent Camarena was a believer that one person CAN make a difference and he sacrificed his life to prevent drugs from entering the United States.

The events surrounding Agent Camarena's murder sparked a grass roots campaign to reduce the demand for drugs and encourage a healthy, violence free lifestyle across the United States. Saddened by Agent Camarena's death, his friends, family and young people in his hometown of Calexico, California began wearing Red Ribbons in his honor. Congressman Duncan Hunter and high school teacher David Dhillon launched "Camarena Clubs" in California high schools. Club members pledged to lead drug-free lives to honor the sacrifices made by Agent Camarena and others on behalf of all Americans. In 1985, club members presented the "Camarena Club Proclamation" to then First Lady Nancy Reagan, bringing it national attention. Later that summer, parent groups in California, Illinois, and Virginia began promoting the wearing of Red Ribbons nationwide during late October.

In 1988, the National Family Partnership organized the first National Red Ribbon Week, an eight-day event proclaimed by the U.S. Congress and chaired by President and Mrs. Reagan.

Today, National Red Ribbon Week is celebrated every year October 23-31. During this time, thousands of schools, communities and drug abuse prevention organizations throughout the country distribute red ribbons to honor Special Agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena's memory and visibly show a dedication to be drug free.