MEXICO CITY — A former top Mexican cartel boss who masterminded the kidnap and murder of a US anti-drug agent, has been ordered released in Mexico, a court source said Friday.

A criminal court in the western state of Jalisco ordered Rafael Caro Quintero's release on Aug. 7, a court official told AFP.

Caro Quintero had served 28 years in prison for the 1985 murder of US Drug Enforcement Administration special agent Enrique Camarena, who was kidnapped in Guadalajara and tortured and murdered.

As of June, Caro Quintero was still wanted in California on charges related to the murder and to drug trafficking.