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DEA
Congressional Testimony
Statement
by:
William E.
Ledwith
Chief
Office of International Operations
Drug Enforcement Administration
Before
the:
Subcommittee
on Criminal Justice Oversight
Date:
May 16, 2000
Note: This document
may not reflect changes made in actual delivery.
Mr. Chairman, Members
of the Subcommittee: I appreciate the opportunity to appear today to speak
briefly on the threats posed to federal law enforcement officers. I would
first like to thank the Subcommittee for its continued support of the
Drug Enforcement Administration and overall support of drug law enforcement.
Because DEA is the
only single-mission federal agency dedicated to drug law enforcement,
the agency has, over the years, developed the ability to direct resources
and manpower to identify, target and dismantle drug organizations headquartered
overseas and within the United States. DEA's strategy to successfully
accomplish these goals is straightforward, requiring that the agency's
resources and manpower be focused on all three levels of the drug trade:
the international, national/regional and local levels. Each of these categories
represents a critical aspect of the drug continuum, which affects communities
across the nation.
The 9,000 dedicated
men and women of the DEA are committed to improving the quality of life
of the citizens of the United States. The agency directs and supports
investigations against the highest levels of the international drug trade,
their surrogates operating within the United States, and those traffickers
whose violence and criminal activities destabilize towns and cities across
the country. These investigations are intelligence-driven and frequently
involve the cooperative efforts of numerous other law enforcement organizations.
Drug enforcement
is an extremely hazardous occupation. This is due to the fact that drug
traffickers have no regard for civil order, justice, or human life. Their
goal is to amass large sums of money in order to maintain their obscene
and lavish life style, free from the boundaries or confines of the law.
U.S. law enforcement poses the greatest threat to the drug traffickers
ability to operate unabated. We have become the major stumbling block
to them and have, therefore, voluntarily become targets of their criminal
violence and ruthlessness. Nowhere has this violence become more prevalent
than along the Southwest border and in Mexico at the hands of Mexican
drug trafficking organizations.
Mexican drug trafficking
organizations pose the greatest challenge to law enforcement agencies
in the United States. For years, we have watched with concern as powerful
organized crime syndicates based in Mexico began to dominate the distribution
of drugs throughout our country. Through the dedicated efforts of Federal,
state, and local law enforcement agencies, we now have a clear picture
of how these drug lords direct the sale of drugs within the U.S., how
they collect their billions of dollars in drug profits, and how they arrange
for the assassination of witnesses in both Mexico and the United States.
We have not only
identified the drug lords themselves, but in most cases, the key members
of their command and control structure. The combined investigations of
DEA, FBI, the U.S. Customs Service and members of state and local police
departments, have resulted in the seizure of hundreds of tons of drugs,
hundreds of millions of dollars in drug proceeds and the indictment of
virtually every one of the leading drug lords. However, despite the evidence
against these powerful drug traffickers, they have been able to evade
arrest and prosecution. The primary reason they have been able to avoid
arrest and continue to ship drugs into the United States is attributable
to their ability to intimidate witnesses, assassinate public officials
and their ability to corrupt many of the civilian law enforcement agencies
in Mexico, often at the command level.
The violence that
is an essential part of the operations of these ruthless and powerful
organizations, has a deadly effect on innocent citizens and law enforcement
officers across the United States as well as those federal law enforcement
agents stationed in Mexico. The trafficker's willingness to murder and
intimidate witnesses, public officials as well as law enforcement officers
has allowed them to develop into the present day threat they have become.
For decades, a number
of threats have been made against U.S. law enforcement personnel stationed
in Mexico by Mexican drug traffickers. Some of these threats and assaults
resulted in serious injury and death. One of the most heinous acts of
narco-terrorism against DEA was the 1985 kidnapping, torture and murder
of DEA Special Agent Enrique Camarena. On February 7, 1985, Special Agent
Enrique Camarena and Mexican Captain Alfredo Zavala, a DEA confidential
source of information, were kidnapped by Mexican drug traffickers from
two separate locations in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. On March 5, 1985,
the bodies of S/A Camarena and Captain Zavala were found in plastic bags
lying in a field adjacent to a busy road. Tape recordings seized by the
Mexican military from a notorious Mexican drug trafficker, confirmed that
S/A Camarena had been brutally beaten and tortured while being interrogated
about his knowledge of Mexican drug traffickers and the identity of DEA
sources of information. Special Agent Camarena's brutal murder captured
worldwide attention and subsequently sparked an international investigation
in order to bring to justice those individuals responsible for his death.
The investigation ultimately revealed the involvement of corrupt Mexican
law enforcement elements, military and public officials, in the execution
of S/A Camarena's murder.
Just over a year
later, DEA would again realize the ruthless and bold tactics of Mexican
drug traffickers and their corrupt counterparts. In August of 1986, DEA
Special Agent Victor Cortez and DEA informant Antonio Garate-Bustamante
were kidnapped in Guadalajara, Mexico by corrupt Mexican police officers.
S/A Cortez and Garate-Bustamante were interrogated, beaten and tortured
at a local Mexican police station for four hours. The corrupt police officers,
who were obviously acting on behalf of a Mexican drug trafficking organization,
attempted to learn the names and locations of other DEA Agents, their
families, and cooperating individuals who were working with DEA personnel
in country. S/A Cortez and Garate-Bustamante were released only after
the DEA Resident Agent in Charge arrived at the police station and relentlessly
demanded their release. Six individuals were eventually arrested by Mexican
authorities and charged with this heinous act of narco-terrorism.
Mexican drug trafficking
organizations routinely rely on violence as an essential tool of the trade.
Much of the drug-related violence which has become commonplace in Mexico,
has spilled over into the United States. Many of these acts of violence
have been aimed at U.S. law enforcement personnel working along or in
close proximity to the Southwest Border. Drug traffickers believe that
Mexico represents safe refuge from U.S. law enforcement, regardless of
their crime.
On June 30, 1994,
DEA Special Agent Richard Fass of the Phoenix Field Division, was killed
by Mexican drug traffickers during an undercover operation in Glendale,
Arizona. The subsequent investigation revealed that Augustin Vasquez-Mendoza,
identified as the leader of this drug trafficking group, orchestrated
a plan to steal $160,000.00 from the undercover agent. During the attempted
rip-off, S/A Fass was murdered while attempting to defend his life and
the life of a DEA informant. Although four other members of this organization
were captured and prosecuted, Vasquez-Mendoza fled to the mountainous
region of Apatzingan, Michoacan, Mexico before he could be apprehended.
Mexican drug traffickers
have adopted a strategy of taking increasingly confrontational and defensive
actions when moving drug loads across the U.S./Mexico border. During 1998,
a relatively new trend involving armed attacks by Mexican traffickers
on U.S. law enforcement officers continued with fatal consequences. These
armed encounters always developed during the drug trafficker's attempts
to avoid arrest while fleeing back to Mexico. One such attack took place
on June 3, 1998, along the Mexican border near Nogales, Arizona. U.S.
Border Patrol Agent Alexander Kirpnick and a fellow agent were attempting
to arrest five Mexican males who were transporting marijuana north across
the border when he was shot and killed.
Although drug related
violence in Mexico has been historically commonplace, within the last
year, drug related violence has increased exponentially. Daily newspaper
articles have memorialized the recent rash of kidnappings and executions
of Government of Mexico (GOM) officials assigned to investigate narcotic
related crimes. Since January of 2000, numerous Mexican officials assigned
to anti narcotics operations have been murdered and several others were
seriously injured.
Of note, Tijuana
Police Chief, Alfredo de la Torre-Marquez, was shot and killed by two
carloads of assassins on February 27, 2000. On March 23, 2000, former
Director of Investigations for the Organized Crime Unit (OCU), Cuauhtemoc
Herrera-Suastegui, was shot in an ambush - one day before he was set to
testify before the Mexican Attorney General in an investigation of the
Carrillo-Fuentes Organization.
In perhaps the most
heinous recent incident, on April 10, 2000 Mexican Attorneys Jose Luis
"Pepe" Patiño and Oscar Pompa, and Army Captain Rafael Torres Bernal,
who were working closely with DEA and FBI Special Agents assigned to San
Diego, were murdered. The three were en route from San Diego to the PGR
(Mexican Attorney General's Office) Headquarters in Tijuana, Mexico. The
three never arrived as planned. They were apparently intercepted on the
way, and brutally beaten to death. Their bodies were discovered two days
later. Investigations are underway on both sides of the border to bring
to justice the perpetrators of this savage act.
The trail of violence
continues as evidenced by the ambush and subsequent torture and murder
of two Mexican law enforcement officials assigned to a Border Task Force
which occurred just days before this hearing.
DEA remains gravely
concerned about the more recent threats and assaults directed against
U.S. Government personnel. Of particular concern was an incident occurring
in Matamoros, Mexico November 9, 1999. A DEA Special Agent and an FBI
Supervisory Special Agent were travelling in a vehicle, while debriefing
a Cooperating Source in Matamoros, Mexico. They were surrounded and physically
threatened by a Mexican drug trafficker and approximately 15 of his bodyguards,
brandishing automatic weapons. The Tampaulipas State Police Commander,
who was aware of the situation as it was happening, did nothing to assist
the two agents. The traffickers demanded that the two agents turn over
the source - certainly to face death at the traffickers hands. To their
credit, the agents refused to turn over the source. During the confrontation
the trafficker ordered his henchmen to shoot the agents and the source.
However, displaying calm control of an explosive and deadly situation,
the two were able to talk their way out, and made their way to safety
in the United States.
Many of the threats
or assaults on our personnel have been subsequent to or while executing
major enforcement operations. As an example, in January of this year,
the FBI advised DEA that the Amado Carillo-Fuentes Drug Trafficking organization
offered a $200,000.00 bounty to anyone who murdered any U.S. law enforcement
agent in Mexico or the U.S. In addition, in February of this year, DEA
was again advised by the FBI, that a major drug trafficker identified
as Juan Jose Esparragosa-Moreno, threatened retaliation against U.S. law
enforcement and/or facilities located within Mexico and along the U.S.
southwest border. The DEA regards these threats as extremely serious and
has taken immediate actions to ensure the safety of our personnel.
Mr. Chairman, the
safety and security of DEA personnel and their families is a priority
within our agency. The DEA has, and will continue to utilize, every means
available to ensure their safety and security. We do, however, remain
extremely concerned regarding the Government of Mexico's ability to effectively
respond to these incidents in a timely manner. In addition, in virtually
every incident involving a narcoterroristic threat against our agents
or personnel in Mexico, Mexican Police officials, acting as enforcers
for drug traffickers, were involved. This fact alone speaks to the continued
ability of the heads of these criminal drug trafficking organizations
to corrupt Mexican law enforcement. However, we are encouraged regarding
the recent arrests of key members of the Amado Carillo-Fuentes drug trafficking
organization. We are hopeful that the recent events are a sign of renewed
commitment of our cooperative counter-drug investigations.
Mr. Chairman, on
behalf of the brave men and women of the Drug Enforcement Administration,
I would like to thank you for the opportunity to testify before the Subcommittee
today. At this time I will be glad to answer any questions you may have.
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