Red Ribbon Week began after the kidnapping, torture, and murder of DEA agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena in 1985.
Camarena had been working undercover for Guadalajara, Mexico for over four years. His efforts led to a tip that resulted in the discovery of a multimillion-dollar marijuana manufacturing operation in Chihuahua, Mexico.
Corrupt politicians working for drug traffickers kidnapped Camarena and his pilot, Captain Alfredo Zavala-Avelar (taken separately on the same day).

Soon, representatives of the Mexican Federal Judicial Police (MFJP) presented a tip to DEA agents claiming that Camarena had been mistakenly kidnapped by a man and his three sons. The MFJP informed the agents that a raid of the man's ranch in Angostura would take place the following morning and invited them to come. However, the MFJP raided the ranch before DEA agents arrived. During the raid, they shot and killed five individuals. Not long after, a passerby discovered the bodies of both Camarena and Zavala-Avelar by the side of the road not far from the ranch.

The DEA's investigation revealed that Camarena had been tortured before he was murdered. Audiotapes of the torture showed that medical doctors actually kept Camarena alive in order to continue the interrogation. Evidence collected revealed that both Camarena and Zavala-Avelar were initially buried in another location, then moved to the ranch where they were found.

The events that followed Camarena's disappearance were chronicled in U.S. media, exposing the world of drug trafficking including how far drug traffickers would go to maintain power and control