Five men have been arrested and charged in the 2012 killing of legendary boxing champion Hector “Macho” Camacho, who was shot to death in Puerto Rico nearly a decade ago. Three of the men, Jesús Naranjo Adorno, 35; Joshua Méndez Romero, 30; and William Rodríguez, were extradited to Puerto Rico from a prison in Orlando, Florida, where they were incarcerated on unrelated charges. A fourth suspect, Luis Ayala García, 31, remains imprisoned in a Puerto Rican jail for a previous offense. A fifth suspect, Juan Figueroa Rivera, was arrested at his home in Bayamon, the city where Camacho was born and killed.
The five men appeared before a judge in San Juan, Puerto Rico to face charges for their roles in the death of Camacho and childhood friend, Adrián Mojica Moreno. Rodríguez, García, and Romero are each being held on $800,000 bond. Adorno’s bond is set at $300,000 bond, while Rivera’s is set at $1 million.
Camacho’s mother, María Matía, was in the courtroom as the charges were read and expressed her relief following the news of the arrests. “They gave me justice,” Matía told the AP. “I can sleep in peace. I can eat and drink a little cup of coffee in the morning.”
In November 2012, Camacho was shot in the face while sitting in a Ford Mustang outside a bar in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. He was rushed to a hospital in San Juan but passed away four days later after being taken off life-support. He was 50 at the time of his death. Mojica, who was also shot and died at the scene, was found with nine bags of cocaine in his possession, with a 10th bag found open in the car.
Rising from the slums of Spanish Harlem, New York, Camacho became one of the biggest boxing sensations to ever come out of the city, winning titles in three weight-classes, including the junior lightweight, lightweight, and junior welterweight divisions. Known for his cocksure attitude, flashy attire in and outside the ring, and overall showmanship, Camacho retired with a record of 79-6-3, with 38 KOs. A documentary on his life and career, Macho: The Hector Camacho Story, was released by Showtime in 2020.